Djokovic in draw and limbo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic remained in limbo even after he was included in the draw for the Australian Open on Thursday, with the tennis star still awaiting a government decision on whether to deport him for not being vaccinated for COVID-19.
Despite the cloud hanging over Djokovic’s ability to compete, Australian Open organizers included the top seed in the draw. He is slated to play fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic, who is ranked world No. 78, in the opening round next week.
No. 1-ranked Djokovic had his visa canceled on arrival in Melbourne last week when his vaccination exemption was rejected, but he won a legal battle on procedural grounds that allowed him to stay in the country.
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley declined comment after the draw ceremony.
The 34-year-old Djokovicwas on the practice court Wednesday when a statement posted on his social media accounts acknowledged that his Australian travel declaration form contained incorrect information.
In the statement, Djokovic blamed “human error” by his support team for failing to declare that he had traveled in the two-week period before entering Australia.
Isner, Opelka entered at River Oaks: 2013 singles champion John Isner will make his 12th appearance at River Oaks and Reilly Opelka, who broke into the top 20 in the ATP rankings last year, are set to return to the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship at River Oaks Country Club April 2-10.
No. 8 Casper Ruud, defending champion Cristian Garin and 10-time ATP Tour title holder Sam Querrey have also committed to play.
Na moves to lead at Sony Open
Kevin Na matched his career low with a 9-under 61 for one-shot lead over Jim Furyk in the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
Furyk made a hole-inone on the 17th hole.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Williams, Neal enter NFL draft
Alabama offensive stars Jameson Williams and Evan Neal are entering the NFL draft and skipping their senior seasons.
Williams led Crimson Tide receivers with 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns in his lone season after transferring from Ohio State. He is projected as a likely first-round pick.
Neal, a 6-foot-7, 350pound left tackle, is regarded as a potential top-5 draft pick.
Manjack to transfer to UH: Former Southern California wide receiver Joseph Manjack IV plans to transfer to the University of Houston.
Manjack, who attended Tomball Memorial, will have three years eligibility.
In his only season with the Trojans, Manjack had seven catches for 67 yards in 11 games.
Joseph Duarte Texas A&M Hall of Famer Wellborn dies: Former Texas A&M football standout and Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Joe Wellborn Jr. passed away on Wednesday.
A three-year letterman from 1963-65, Wellborn was inducted in the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. He served as a team captain as a senior on head coach Gene Stallings’ first Aggie team in 1965. He earned All-Southwest Conference honors at linebacker in 1965.
Brent Zwerneman
WINTER SPORTS
White closes in on Olympics spot
Shaun White all but wrapped up a spot in his fifth Olympics on Thursday when he qualified for the finals of a contest and his nearest American pursuer failed to move on at Laax, Switzerland.