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While the number one place for Novak Djokovic and his participation in the Australian Open is “time is he or not,” the rest of the tennis world will return to work this week to prepare for the first big start of the season on January 17 at. Melbourne Park.
The men’s ATP Cup team event has been running since the Sydney weekend, with three tuning events taking place in Melbourne this week as part of Tennis Australia’s “Summer Set” – two WTA tournaments and one ATP.
Adelaide will have a joint ATP and WTA tournament this week. Next week, both Adelaide and Sydney will host joint ATP-WTA tournaments.
Djokovic is still nowhere to be seen.
Australian Open general manager Craig Tiley says “there is still little to play” before nine-time champion Djokovic appears to play in Australia.
The top-ranked player has consistently refused to disclose whether he has been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, a prerequisite for playing in Melbourne. But it has been speculated that Djokovic could seek medical exemption for gaming as he sees a record 21st Grand Slam championship. He is tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at 20.
Djokovic withdrew from the Serbian ATP Cup last week.
“We still have a few charter flights coming up until the end of this week, and then all the players are here,” Tiley said. – As for Novak, I think we will have a much clearer picture in the next few days, otherwise it’s pretty late to come to the Australian Open. There’s quite a lot to play, and I think it will survive in the coming days.
Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep will lead the Welb tournament in Melbourne this week, while Nadal, who is recovering from COVID-19, is at the forefront of the ATP event in Melbourne Park. Reilly Opelka, Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov are also in second place in the ATP tournament.
Ash Barty, who tops Adelaide and Wimbledon champion, is the main winner, along with Coco Gauff, Petra Kvitova, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. Gael Monfils is number one in the Adelaide ATP, while Karen Khachanov is number two.
US Open champion Emma Raducanu withdrew from the Melbourne tournament just after getting out of isolation after receiving a positive COVID-19 test.
Raducanu, who became the first qualifier to win the Grand Slam when he won at Flushing Meadows in September, had withdrawn from the Abu Dhabi tournament in late December after getting infected with the virus.
The two biggest names in tennis are not playing in the Australian Open.
Federer is still recovering from right knee surgery.
The drought in Serena Williams ’Grand Slam officially reaches five years after the 23-time champion announced last month that he was withdrawing from the Australian Open due to a continuing femoral injury. That means he will lose his second chance to reach Margaret Court’s all-time Grand Slam record.
Williams ’23rd major doubles championship – and most recently – came at the Australian Open in 2017.
And for the first time in 24 years, none of Williams ’sisters are in action in Melbourne Park. Venus Williams, 41, has not played since August due to a leg injury.
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