Novak Djokovic’s absence ATP Cup It had a lot of resonance during the Sydney team press conference day of the Serbia team. Becomes the main name of the team without the number 1 in the world Dusan Lajovic, is 31 years old and is ranked 33rd in the rankings. He commented on Thursday about the uncertainty surrounding Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open, which begins on January 17.
Officials from the state of Victoria, where the tournament takes place, require proof of vaccination for those participating in the first Grand Slam of the year. In recent times, the possibility for non-vaccinated professionals to participate has opened up, provided they have a medical justification for it. It is not up to the tournament organization to disclose the status of each player. The ATP only says that 95% of its top 100 are already immunized against COVID-19, while Djokovic has not publicly stated whether he has been vaccinated.
“I don’t know the official reason. Maybe ATP knows, but I don’t. He just said he wasn’t coming to the ATP Cup and he was trying to get there before the Australian Open. We know about a half-and-a-half of that.” day or something like that. We were all waiting for a last minute decision,” Lajovic said.
“He didn’t specify whether he’s coming or not, but he’s waiting for a decision. Like I said, it was a last-minute decision. I don’t know, but I think we’ll be there in the next few days.” Will know or when the time limit or whatever. Now. I hope he is there and can play the Grand Slam,” said the Serb, who will have Filip Krajinovic, Nikola Cacic and Matej Sabanov as teammates.
Lajovic also spoke about the loss in the game for the Serbian team due to the loss of the main player of the team. Serbia is in Group A of the competition along with Norway, Spain and Chile. The debut will take place this Saturday in front of the Norwegians. “It’s never the same when you have the world No. 1 on your team. It’s a big difference. Obviously when Novak is on the team, the expectations get too high. So everyone in Novak in the spotlight are kept, and then try to lead the whole team.”
“At the moment maybe we’re a little off the radar. It could be good or bad for us. We’ll see now. But it’s definitely different. We’ll have to see what happens after the tournament and how it goes. Unfortunately Well, he can’t come here and we have to deal with it.”
Also commenting on Djokovic’s absence, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas was fourth in the ATP rankings. The tennis player believes that most competitors respect the Serbian decision not to compete, regardless of the reason. “They have the freedom of choice. What can I say? I think the ATP Cup will lose a great player this year and also the Serbian fans that came last year. That’s all I can say.”
Looking forward to the tournament in Sydney, Tsitsipas did not speak directly about Djokovic’s decision not to vaccinate, but emphasized the importance of protocol to make the competition viable. “Rules are rules. They are set for a certain purpose and reason. So there are certain parameters that must be followed in order to make things happen. So if some players decide not to follow the rules, it is their choice.” is,” he said. “I was really looking forward to coming to Australia, and I do whatever it takes to come.”
