Tennis Australia official says Novak Djokovic not out of ATP Cup yet
A Tennis Australia official has revealed that Novak Djokovic has not yet pulled out of the ATP Cup despite reports suggesting he had opted to give the team competition a pass.
There has been a lot of talk regarding the World No. 1's participation at next month's events in Australia, primarily due to the fact that he is yet to reveal his COVID-19 vaccination status.
The Victorian Government requires all players to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to compete at the ATP Cup and Australian Open. Djokovic has always maintained that people have the right to keep their vaccination status private. He is also against on-tour vaccinations being made mandatory.
Recent reports claimed that the 34-year-old had withdrawn from the ATP Cup. A source close to Djokovic told Serbian media outlet Blic:
“Novak is not going to ATP Cup. He is practicing, but he’s decided to skip that competition."
However, as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald, an official from Tennis Australia said there have not been any withdrawals from the Serbian team yet.
“No withdrawals from Team Serbia."
Novak Djokovic yet to arrive in Australia
As of yet, there has been no official confirmation from Djokovic or the ATP Cup organizers regarding his withdrawal from the event. In fact, the competition's official website still has his name on the schedule.
However, with only four days to go before the ATP Cup commences, Djokovic is yet to arrive in Australia. Just a few days ago, the World No. 1 was spotted playing tennis in his neighborhood in Belgrade.
Serbia has been drawn in Group A at the ATP Cup, alongside Norway, Chile and Spain. Djokovic's first match of the competition is against Casper Ruud on Saturday. He is also scheduled to take on Cristian Garin and Roberto Bautista Agut.
January 1st, 2022 📅
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Recently, Djokovic's father Srdjan said that the 20-time Grand Slam champion would probably miss the Australian Open. If the Serb does not feature at the Asia-Pacific Grand Slam, he might lose his No. 1 ranking as both Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev are close to toppling him.
Djokovic currently stands on 11,540 ATP points, with Medvedev on 8,640 and Zverev on 7,840.
However, if the 34-year-old does participate at the Australian Open, he will be the heavy favorite to win it for the 10th time in his career.
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