Championship director Craig Tilley confirmed Sunday that Novak Djokovic intends to play in the Australian Open in 2023, believing that the fiasco that led to the expulsion of World No. 1 this year was due to a “misunderstanding”.
Posted yesterday at 11:27 PM.
Asked by Australian public broadcaster ABC whether World No 1, who is not immune to COVID-19, plans to return next year to play the tournament despite this year’s events, Mr Tiley replied, “Yes.” […] That would be his intention.”
“At the end of the day, he’s the number one seed in the world and he really loves the Australian Open,” added Mr. Tilley.
But the prime minister of Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, insisted that Djokovic would not be allowed to play unless he was vaccinated.
« Raphael [Nadal] He is right. We could have avoided this whole thing if he had simply been vaccinated. This person thinks it’s more important than heroism, but it’s not,” Daniel Andrews told reporters.
Djokovic won the Australian pioneer nine times (a record) and was aiming for a 10e The title this year that would have allowed him to bring the record for 21 Grand Slam titles he currently holds with Rafael Nadal (who was playing his eighthe Sunday’s final) and Roger Federer (absent).
For Tiley, it was “continually changing circumstances” and “poor communications” with the federal government that led to Djokovic’s dismissal the day before the tournament began when he had initially received a waiver signed by the Tennis Australia’s chief medical officer (TA) to enter Australia is unvaccinated.
Tiley, who is also the president of TA, said his body had worked with national authorities, but due to the evolving nature of the Omicron variant, “there was a lot of inconsistency and complexity in the information received.
Even last week [depuis la décision de justice sur l’expulsion de Djokovic]He stressed that things have changed with regard to the measures taken to confront the epidemic.
To get that waiver, the Serb argued that he contracted COVID-19 within six months of arriving in Australia. But after ten days of legal proceedings and a few days in a detention center, Djokovic was fired.
Does the Australian Federation expect to file a lawsuit by the player to pay his legal expenses and travel expenses? “No,” replied Mr. Tilly.