Novak Djokovic may not play at Australian Open, says his father

Novak Djokovic’s father Srdjan Djokovic has hit out at Australian Open organizers, while also stating that his son may not play at the tournament. 

The senior Djokovic said that his son is interested in playing in Australia but thinks that the ball is in the Australian Open organizers’ hands rather than his son’s.

“It was embarrassing because of the announcement of those rulers in the provinces of Australia, who gave themselves the right to call out the nine-time champion of Australia. Whether he will appear there depends on them how they will position themselves. He wants to play because he is an athlete, and we would love that too. Under these blackmails and conditions, he probably won’t play at the Australian Open. I wouldn’t do that,” said Srdjan Djokovic. 

He also believes that it is the personal right of every person to decide if they want to be vaccinated, and that Novak Djokovic will most likely not reveal his vaccination status. He also took a shot at tournament director Craig Tiley, questioning who decides what is a recognized vaccine. 

“What is a recognized vaccine, Mr. Craig? Russian vaccine is not recognized? According to our criteria, only Chinese and Russian are recognized,” said Djokovic. 

The Australian Open will require all players, tournament staff, and spectators to be fully vaccinated. The vaccination mandate has resulted in speculation that some players could miss the tournament due to health conditions. 

Novak Djokovic, in a recent interview, stated that he is taking a wait-and-see approach regarding his participation in the Australian Open. The Serbian is the defending Australian Open men’s singles champion, having made it three titles on the bounce at the start of the year. 

The win took him to 9 Australian Open titles, three more than the second-best on the list, Roger Federer. Djokovic made swift progress in the list for most Grand Slam titles in 2021, as he won three of the four titles, missing out on only the US Open. His three Grand Slam wins in the year took him on a level with both Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most men’s Grand Slam titles at 20 wins. 

Djokovic’s absence will be a huge miss for the Australian Open, which will also not see six-time men’s Australian Open champion, Roger Federer, who is sitting out in the tournament following surgery. Tiley, though, recently stated that nearly 95% of all players will be fully vaccinated by the time the tournament begins in January. Exceptions will be given to players who will not be able to take the vaccine.