VAXXING ISSUES
Djokovic willing to snub his Oz Open defence in Covid stand-off
NOVAK DJOKOVIC has threatened to pull out of the Australian Open after officials insisted that unvaccinated players are unlikely to be allowed into the country.
The nine-times Australian Open champion has said he is prepared to miss out on the chance of defending his Melbourne title in January and claiming a record 21st Grand Slam win – because he refuses to release his vaccination status.
Djokovic, 34, said: “Things being as they are, I still don’t know if I will go to Melbourne.
“I will not reveal my status, whether I have been vaccinated or not. It is a private matter and an inappropriate inquiry.
“People go too far these days in taking the liberty to ask questions and judge a person.
“Whatever you say ‘Yes, no, maybe, I am thinking about it’, they will take advantage.”
The state of Victoria, scheduled to host the first major of 2022, introduced a vaccination mandate for professional athletes as it battles a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
Premier Daniel Andrews said: “I don’t think an unvaccinated tennis player is going to get a visa to come into this country and if they did, they’d probably have to quarantine for a couple of weeks.
“The virus doesn’t care what your ranking is, or how many Grand Slams you’ve won. It’s completely irrelevant. You need to be vaccinated to keep yourself safe and to keep others safe.”
Djokovic this summer said he hoped vaccination would not be made mandatory for players, insisting it should come down to freedom of choice.
The world No.1 was forced to apologise after staging a charity event in Serbia in 2020 with no social-distancing measures, after which several players, including himself, tested positive.
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has announced that international travel to and from the country would resume from November 1 for citizens and permanent residents, but emphasised “no decision to allow other visa holders” had yet been made. Tennis Australia insisted in May the tournament would proceed in January. And just last week Andy Murray said players should get vaccinated, with the Scot insisting: “I support vaccination. I hope more players get it done.”
Meanwhile, Wimbledon chiefs last night confirmed that next summer’s tournament will be the first to feature play on the middle Sunday as a permanent feature.
In the past, play has been scheduled on the middle Sunday only as a result of delays forced by bad weather.
But from this summer on, the tournament will feature play then permanently – with the men’s and women’s fourth round now set to begin on that day.
The All England Club will also be celebrating 100 years of tennis on Centre Court in its current location next summer, when there will be a special ceremony taking place on the Middle Sunday.
There is a new exhibition on show at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum dedicated to
Centre Court.