World No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas says he ‘respects’ whatever decision Novak Djokovic makes about playing at the Australian Open in the coming days.
The world No.1 is yet to publicly comment if he will be playing at the first major of 2022 which he has won a record nine times. Should Djokovic triumph again in January he would overtake rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to become the most decorated men’s Grand Slam champion in history.
However, his participation in the event remains uncertain due to a health mandate requiring all players to be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they have a medical exemption. Djokovic has refused to say publicly if he has been fully vaccinated or not. The Serbian has previously told the media that he wants to keep his medical history private. According to ATP Executive Vice President Simon Higson 95% of top 100 players on the men’s Tour have been fully vaccinated.
Speaking about the situation during an interview with Sky Sports Italy, Tsitsipas said players ‘have freedom to decide’ about playing at the Australian Open. The Greek has previously voiced some concerns about having the COVID-19 vaccine earlier this year which promoted some criticism from senior figures in his home country. However, the 23-year-old states that he is not against the vaccination process.
“It is his choice – I respect it. Everyone has the freedom to decide. I will go to Australia,” Tsitsipas said of Djokovic.
“I don’t promote vaccination, but I’m not even against it. I support anyone who wants to do it.
“I am not a doctor, I am an athlete and my outlook may not be the best when it comes to medicine. I will be vaccinated this year. I do it to have a normal life.”
Djokovic is set to play his first tournament at the ATP Cup but there is confusion over if he will be playing in the event. Leading Serbian newspaper Blic recently quoted a team source saying that it is 99% certain that he will be skipping the team tournament in Sydney. However, officials have so far dismissed this.
“No withdrawals from Team Serbia,” a Tennis Australia spokesperson told The Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas is playing in the ATP Cup and could play Djokovic in the event if both countries progress to the knockout stages. Greece has been drawn in the same group as Poland, Argentina and Georgia.
The event will be the first test for Tsitsipas since he had surgery on his elbow last month. He was forced to pull out of the ATP World Tour Finals due to the issue and says he had been playing in pain over recent months. Now back to full training, the French Open finalist says he faces a new challenge in his career.
“For me it’s like starting from scratch, I find myself facing a completely new challenge,” he said.
“I felt pain in the last two years but I played anyway, until I decided to have surgery in Belgium.’
“I’m very happy. I’m using a muscle that I almost didn’t know I had because I wasn’t using it to protect the joint, I changed my style of play.”
The ATP Cup will begin on January 1st.
