The Australian Open is slated to start in one and a half weeks, and, still, it’s anybody’s guess as to whether World Number One Novak Djokovic can suit up. He wants to, of course, and not simply because he’s aiming to break a tie with longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most number of major championships. The first stop on the Grand Slam rota just so happens to be where he has been most successful; it has provided nine of his 20 titles in the sport’s holy grails. Unfortunately, stringent health and safety protocols have put into question his capacity to compete in the country.
Make no mistake. Australian Open organizers are going out of their way to help Djokovic. He’s a top draw, and their dream matchup is one that pits him and Nadal in the men’s singles final. The problem is his vaccination status, and how it restricts his mobility. There’s a reason he’s doing all the requisite preparations in Belgrade, Serbia, and Marbella, Spain, and not in Melbourne, Australia, and it’s not because he wants to make his work harder. Even as other hopefuls are already arriving in Victoria state, he’s still unable to book a chartered flight in the face of a standing ban on the acceptance of unvaccinated visitors.
At this point, Djokovic’s only hope is a medical exemption, for which he seems to have applied. Details remain sketchy, but Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley’s most recent pronouncements seem to indicate that a resolution is imminent. The official has noted that such an exemption for tennis players “is far more rigorous than anyone [else] coming to Australia… There are two medical panels that assess any application, and they assess it in a blind way. They don’t know who the applicant is.”
Which is to say Djokovic’s fate depends on unknown quarters. If it’s any consolation, some players are said to have been given the very dispensation he’s seeking. Given the process, however it’s a small mercy. And if he’s ultimately unable to trek to Melbourne Park, he has no one to turn to but himself for the answers.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
