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Novak Djokovic's status for the Australian Open has been confirmed, with the world number one revealing he'd been given an exemption to enter the country without a vaccination.
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Back in October it was confirmed that players were going to have to be vaccinated in order to enter Melbourne for this year's Australian Open, throwing Djokovic's participation into doubt.
The Serbian refused to confirm his vaccination status but his father was unhappy with the decision, claiming that the restrictions were the same as 'blackmail.'
Daniel Andrews, the Premier of Victoria, even said 'there's no special treatment here,' when discussing the possibility of Djokovic playing without a vaccination, but now it seems that there is.
The nine time Australian Open champion took to Instagram to confirm the news that he was going to be playing the tournament, starting on January 17th, because he's been given an exemption.
Melbourne has been officially the 'world's most lockdown city' thanks to the local government imposing 262 days, nearly nine months, during six separate lockdowns on the city.
The city is now out of lockdown but there has been a rise in cases in the country due to the Omicron variant.
Unsurprisingly fans are not happy with the announcement that Djokovic has been allowed into the area without a vaccination, especially when that goes against what was originally said.
Though we now know that Djokovic plans to play the #AusOpen, there will still be considerable speculation about the legitimacy of his exemption.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 4, 2022
What “acute major medical condition,” as listed here by Australian authorities, could a healthy #1-ranked athlete have? pic.twitter.com/Qe12SWTMJo
Absolutely ridiculous & a slap in the face to every one in Australia!
— Cory Karma (@CoryKarma) January 4, 2022
Only in Australia you can lose your job over a jab but if u are a tennis player you a free man. https://t.co/07akvAEf08
— Arman (@arman5671) January 4, 2022
This is not good. You are getting an unvaccinated git into country where Covid cases are on rise. https://t.co/pruStxdo0C
— Navleen Kaur (@NavleenSpeaks) January 4, 2022
Yeah because if you're really, really good at tennis that means you can't pass the virus on to others, that makes sense https://t.co/lGml7vkRpj
— Eddie Robson (@EddieRobson) January 4, 2022
No one in their right mind should support this clown or condone his behavior. https://t.co/l4oRyVDXd4
— Srini (@softsignalout) January 4, 2022
Novak Djokovic awarded medical exemption to come to Australia unvaccinated after he contracted a serious case of being rich
— Chaser Interns (@ChaserInterns) January 4, 2022
Novak Djokovic is about to find out what it’s like to be despised by all of Australia. We’re all nice and laid back until we’re not. #GetVaccinated
— Karen Sweeney (@karenlsweeney) January 4, 2022
Last month it was confirmed that Rafael Nadal's participation in the tournament was in doubt, after the Spanish player confirmed he had Covid.
Roger Federer will also be missing having no recovered from surgery in time, with questions about his future in the sport.
Last year's tournament, that saw Djokovic and Sofia Kenin win the singles, was played after the players had to quarantine in hotels for two weeks.
Lots of players complained about their quarantine environment but Bernard Tomic's wife came in for particular criticism for her complaints.
Topics: Novak Djokovic, Australian Open, Tennis
