Melbourne (AFP)
The director of the Australian Open, the first grand slam in tennis, Craig Tiley, confirmed Sunday that the Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic intends to participate in the 2023 edition, believing that the scandal that led to his deportation this year was due to “bad communication”.
“Yes, that would be his intention,” said Tiley, in response to a question from the Australian Public Broadcasting Corporation “ABC” whether Djokovic, who did not receive the “Covid-19” vaccine, intends to return next year to participate in the tournament despite the events of this year.
“At the end of the day, he is number one in the world and he really loves the Australian Open,” he added.
But the prime minister of the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, insisted that Djokovic would not be allowed to play unless he was vaccinated.
“Nadal is right, we might have avoided this whole story if he had simply been a vaccinator,” Daniel Andrews told reporters.
Djokovic won the Australian Championship 9 times (a record) and was aiming to obtain a tenth title this year that would lead to the record number of titles in the Grand Slams, which he currently shares with Nadal, who reached the eighth of the final today, and Roger Federer (20 each). who are they).
Tiley explained that it was the constant change in circumstances and bad communication with the federal government that led to Djokovic’s expulsion on the eve of the tournament, following he was initially granted an exemption signed by the chief medical officer of the Australian Tennis Association in order to enter Australia without receiving a vaccine once morest Corona.
Tiley, who heads the Australian Football Association, said the latter had worked with national authorities, but given the evolving nature of the Omicron mutant, “there was a lot of inconsistencies and complexity in the information received.”
He stressed that even in the past week since the court’s decision on the expulsion of Djokovic, things have changed regarding the measures taken to confront the epidemic.
Djokovic had made it clear that he had contracted the “Covid-19” virus in the six months prior to his arrival in Australia, which made it possible to obtain a medical exemption without receiving a vaccine. But following ten days of legal proceedings and a few days in detention, he was deported.
In response to a question regarding whether the Football Association of Australia expects to file a lawsuit once morest Djokovic to compensate for his legal and travel expenses, Talley said: No.
