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Novak Djokovic should be allowed to play in the Australian Open if he serves a two-week quarantine, the head of the men’s tennis tour has claimed. But ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi has claimed that 98 per cent of players could be jabbed by the start of the first Grand Slam of the year in January.
World No 1 Djokovic has repeatedly refused to say if he has been vaccinated. And the defending champion said at the Paris Masters earlier this week he would “decide on whether I go to Australia or not after I see the official statement from Tennis Australia”.
Australia has just started to re-open its borders again after 20 months of lockdown but negotiations are continuing between the national Australian government – which wants to give non-vaccinated players special exemptions to enter the country – and the Victorian state government which is opposed.
Gaudenzi told L”Equipe: “We have known for a few days that you cannot go to Australia if you are not vaccinated. That can still change but it is their tournament.
“If they decide to organise it with this rule, we can do nothing. The problem is with the players who will not be vaccinated.
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“I cannot answer for him [Djokovic] but we hope that the government will authorise non-vaccinated players to play after two weeks in isolation. But that is a government decision above us.
“For Novak, it is a personal decision. But you have to think about the vast majority of players who are vaccinated and want to play.
“The good news is that the percentage is increasing steadily. We are already at 70 per cent. We hope to arrive at 95 per cent or 98 per cent in two months.”
This year’s Australian Open saw all players serve a controlled quarantine which restricted them to the tennis courts and their hotels.
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But 72 players – including Heather Watson – had to spend two weeks in a hotel room after arriving on a plane where a passenger tested positive for Covid 19.
Gaudenzi added: “The good news is that Tennis Australia has assured us that, this year, if you are a close contact but your test is negative, you will be free. The vaccination has changed the deal.”
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