Former World No. 1 and the 21-time Grand Slam title holder Novak Djokovic believes that things will change and he will be able to appear at the Australian Open next year.
Djokovic dealt a severe setback earlier this year when he was deported from Australia after a legal fight, one day before the start of his title defense in Melbourne, for not having the Covid-19 vaccine.
When Novak Djokovic arrived in Melbourne, his visa, which had initially been approved for entry into Australia, was cancelled. Despite being exempt from the strict Covid-19 rules in Australia, the Serb spent a few days in a detention facility at a motel. Djokovic engaged in a legal dispute that culminated his visa being cancelled.
Serbian-born Djokovic has denied getting the vaccine of Covid-19. Thus he missed out on an opportunity to defend his title in Australian Open crown.
“It’s not in my hand right now”, Djokovic remarked. “As things stand now, I cannot travel to Australia and the United States, but I am hoping to get positive news”, Djokovic told RTS following celebrations at Belgrade City Hall.
“I think things will be different at the Australian Open. There isn’t much time left for the U.S. Open, but hope remains. Although I would like to participate at the US Open and Australia Open, it would not be the end of the world if I did not.” said the 35 years old.
Notably, Djokovic was permitted to compete in London and won the Wimbledon championship in 2022, one month after losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinal of the French Open.
However, despite the 2020 Wimbledon tournament being postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the Serb has won the last four Wimbledon championships in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. He now leads record-holder Nadal, who has 22 major victories, by one Grand Slam title.
