Novak Djokovic ‘trying to get to Australian Open' claims Serbia teammate Dusan Lajovic at ATP Cup

ByBen Snowball

Updated 30/12/2021 at 14:52 GMT

Novak Djokovic has apparently told Serbian teammates that he is “trying” to get to the Australian Open in Melbourne, despite pulling out of the ATP Cup at the last minute on Tuesday. With the tournament set to start on January 17, time is running out for the defending champion to confirm his vaccination status. Stream the 2022 Australian Open live and on demand on discovery+

One topic has dominated conversation in the tennis world over the past month: is Novak Djokovic vaccinated?

The Serb has remained coy ahead of the Australian Open, where only fully vaccinated players will be allowed to compete.

Now compatriot Dusan Lajovic has shed light on the situation and claimed Djokovic is “trying” to get to Melbourne.

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The world No. 33 fielded questions at the ATP Cup in Sydney, which Djokovic pulled out from on Tuesday.

“I don’t know the official reason [why Djokovic withdrew] but maybe the ATP knows,” said Lajovic.

[Djokovic] just said that he’s not coming to the ATP Cup and he’s trying to get to the Australian Open.

“He said, ‘I’m not coming guys to the ATP Cup; we’ll see about the Australian Open’. I mean, he didn’t specify if he’s coming or not but that he’s waiting for a decision.”

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In Djokovic’s absence at the ATP Cup, Lajovic will lead a Serbia team also featuring Filip Krajinovic, Nikola Cacic, Matej Sabanov and captain Ivan Sabanov.

However, he insisted that Djokovic had hoped to travel to Australia.

“Obviously, when Novak is in the team, the expectations get much higher and everybody’s putting a spotlight on Novak, of course, and trying to push the whole team,” he said.

“Right now, maybe we’re on the sideline a little bit and it could be good for us, it could be bad – we’ll see.

“But it’s definitely different and we’ll get to see what happens after the tournament and how it goes.

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“He was, I think, hoping the same as we did, that somehow he will be here, but unfortunately he’s not and we’ve got to deal with it.”

Djokovic will claim the outright record of men’s Grand Slam singles titles if he wins the Australian Open. He is tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20.

The tournament begins on January 17.

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