Melbourne (AP) – No Australian Open without a full vaccination: The Australian immigration minister Alex Hawke has once again underlined the strict entry rules of his country.
It is therefore still unclear whether defending champion Novak Djokovic will compete in the tennis tournament at the beginning of the year. The 34-year-old Serb has recovered from a corona infection, but does not want to make public whether he has been vaccinated against the virus or not. It was a private matter, Djokovic had emphasized in an interview.
The entry regulations are universal and not only valid for tennis players, said Hawke in an interview with radio station ABC. If Australia opens its borders, everyone who wants to enter the country must be fully vaccinated. “I don’t have a message for Novak,” Hawke said when asked by the reporter. “I have a message for anyone visiting Australia: you need to get a double vaccination.”
Djokovic is on the hunt for records: the winner of 20 Grand Slam tournaments has triumphed nine times in Melbourne, another success in a good three months would make him the sole record holder in the four most important tournaments ahead of the Swiss Roger Federer and the Spaniard Rafael Nadal. “Of course I would like to go there,” emphasized Djokovic.
The regional prime minister of the state of Victoria, in which Melbourne is located, had already stated on Tuesday: “The virus does not care what your tennis ranking is or how many Grand Slams you have won. You have to be vaccinated to protect yourself and others protection.”
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