"I can't imagine him not wanting to be here" says Todd Woodbridge on Djokovic and the Australian Open

ATP
Thursday, 21 October 2021 at 14:30
Djokovic Novak AustralianOpen2019 scaled
Novak Djokovic gave an interview in his native Serbia a few days ago where he refused to disclose whether he got vaccinated or not.
Djokovic has decided to keep the decision private for now but with the Australian Open requiring players to be vaccinated in order to compete for it, it's unlikely that Djokovic will be able to keep his vaccination status unknown in the near future. The Serbian has voiced concerns over the vaccine expressing his desire that the decision is something everybody should take on their own.
For the most part, it's like that but the Australian Open will need players to be vaccinated simply because the Australian government has imposed a very strict vaccine mandate for anybody coming into the country, including athletes. Former Aussie tennis legend Todd Woodbridge urged Djokovic to bite the bullet saying:
“The fact that he says he’s not going to tell us whether he’s had it (the vaccination) or not, probably means he still hasn’t had the vaccination. It’s becoming increasingly likely that if you don’t have it, it’s going to be very hard to get here."
Woodbridge doesn't see the Australian government changing their decision on vaccine mandate as the country has had some of the strictest measures in place since the pandemic started. He further said:
“Novak is waiting until the 11th hour to make that decision, I can’t imagine him not wanting to be here, not wanting to play in what has been his most successful tournament. That hourglass is ticking, and there’s not a lot left, he’s going to have to make that call one way or the other, and if he has it, he’s going to have to tell us."
He finished off with:
“Holding it close to your chest isn’t going to get the outcome solved for him.”

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