Novak Djokovic Given Medical Exemption To Play Australian Open
The 20 time Grand Slam champion is set to compete at Melbourne Park after being given an exemption to be unvaccinated in Australia.
Novak Djokovic's status for the Australian Open has been confirmed, with the world number one revealing he'd been given an exemption to enter the country without a vaccination.
Back in October it was confirmed that players were going to have to be vaccinated in order to enter Melbourne for this year's Australian Open, throwing Djokovic's participation into doubt.
The Serbian refused to confirm his vaccination status but his father was unhappy with the decision, claiming that the restrictions were the same as 'blackmail.'
Daniel Andrews, the Premier of Victoria, even said 'there's no special treatment here,' when discussing the possibility of Djokovic playing without a vaccination, but now it seems that there is.
The nine time Australian Open champion took to Instagram to confirm the news that he was going to be playing the tournament, starting on January 17th, because he's been given an exemption.
Melbourne has been officially the 'world's most lockdown city' thanks to the local government imposing 262 days, nearly nine months, during six separate lockdowns on the city.
The city is now out of lockdown but there has been a rise in cases in the country due to the Omicron variant.
Unsurprisingly fans are not happy with the announcement that Djokovic has been allowed into the area without a vaccination, especially when that goes against what was originally said.
Last month it was confirmed that Rafael Nadal's participation in the tournament was in doubt, after the Spanish player confirmed he had Covid.
Roger Federer will also be missing having no recovered from surgery in time, with questions about his future in the sport.
Last year's tournament, that saw Djokovic and Sofia Kenin win the singles, was played after the players had to quarantine in hotels for two weeks.
Lots of players complained about their quarantine environment but Bernard Tomic's wife came in for particular criticism for her complaints.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Novak Djokovic, Australian Open, Tennis
Ryan Sidle