Thursday December 30th 2021
Djokovic, the big question mark
The tennis circus pretends to be normal
Alexander Zverev strolls through Sydney, the Australian tennis summer begins. But the corona worries are increasing because many professionals are infected. Before the ATP Cup and Australian Open, one question is of particular interest: Can vaccination skeptic Novak Djokovic, the number one in tennis, enter the country?
Five tennis players pose on Sydney Harbor. The seagulls screech, the cameras click. The Harbor Bridge forms the backdrop for the PR meeting before the start of the new season. Wonderful normalcy, no masks, no corona, great mood. Alexander Zverev and his teammates routinely wind down the program, two more interviews, and then it’s done.
The normality of the past few days looked a little different, less relaxed. The corona cases in the tennis scene are increasing, after an invitation tournament in Abu Dhabi some prominent players – including Rafael Nadal. Denis Shapovalov and Anastassija Pavlyuchenkova brought the virus with them to Australia and are initially stuck in quarantine.
It is definitely a success report when Zverev is allowed to stroll through Sydney with Jan-Lennard Struff and the other German professionals. The team has managed to enter the country, now preparations for the Australian Open (from January 17th) begin – initially with the ATP Cup and games against Great Britain (January 2nd), the USA (January 4th) and Canada (January 6th) / all Sky and ServusTV).
The sporting value of the team tournament is manageable, even if the ATP would like to give a different impression. The organizers received a number of rejections, Austria withdrew completely, defending champion Russia joins Roman Safiullin, number 167 in the world rankings. The biggest issue in the tennis world is that Serbia has to do without its superstar.
Can vaccination skeptics Djokovic enter?
The question of whether Novak Djokovic is coming to Australia has been on the scene for weeks. The 20-time Grand Slam champion does not comment on it and thus fuels speculation. Djokovic is considered a vaccine skeptic, but unlike many other players, he does not reveal his status. But he only comes to Melbourne vaccinated or with a special permit.
It was said in a local newspaper in Belgrade that he had been refused. Other reports claim the opposite. Djokovic’s compatriots either couldn’t or didn’t want to go into detail before the ATP Cup. He doesn’t know the official reason, said Dusan Lajovic, Serbian number one in the absence of Djokovic, at a press conference, “maybe the ATP knows him.”
Yes, almost certainly, but it doesn’t let anything out. Lajovic, on the other hand, had to comment. Djokovic said that he would skip the ATP Cup but “tried to come to the Australian Open,” said Lajovic: “He did not say whether he would come or not, but that he was waiting for a decision.” Lajovic didn’t know (or said) which decision.
The speculation will continue until either Djokovic or Tennis Australia declare themselves to enter the Melbourne record winner. Alexander Zverev doesn’t care much about the theater, for him it’s “great to be back in Australia”. Playing for Germany at the beginning of the season is something very special, said Zverev in Sydney Harbor. He’s looking forward to it. Magnificent normality.