Sweet revenge for Rafa as de Minaur downed to keep legend's Madrid fairytale alive
Alex de Minaur has missed out on the chance of a lifetime to beat Rafael Nadal on clay in successive tournaments, blown away by…
Novak Djokovic has ended his season saying “we’ll wait and see” if he plays the Australian Open after tournament chief Craig Tiley confirmed all players must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Nine-time and reigning Australian Open champion Djokovic has refused to say if he’s vaccinated – or if he intends to get vaccinated.
“We’ll see. We’ll have to wait and see,” Djokovic said of the Australian Open after losing to Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals in Turin on Saturday – marking his final match on tour this year.
“I haven’t been talking to them, to be honest,” Djokovic added. “I was just waiting to hear what the news is going to be and now that I know we’ll just have to wait and see.”
There is a lot riding on it for Djokovic.
If he does go to Melbourne, he can attempt to break a tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and win a record 21st grand slam singles title.
The Victorian state government had previously said only vaccinated people will be be allowed into the Australian Open, which runs from January 17-30, and Tiley reiterated that on Saturday.
“Everyone on site, the fans, all the staff, the players, will need to be vaccinated,” Tiley said at the tournament’s official launch.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about Novak’s position, he’s said it’s a private matter.
“We would love to see Novak here, but he knows he needs to be vaccinated in order to play. He’s always said that the Australian Open is the event that puts the wind in his sails.”
© AAP
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