Novak Djokovic is welcome at Australian Open, says tournament director; Russian and Belarusian players can compete in men’s and women’s draws
The Australian Open is not the first time to have Djokovic play a Grand Slam. But if and when he takes to the court in Melbourne, he will be the first player to have not at one of the grand slams.
It’s a point made again by Australian Open director Matthew Stephens.
He said the “tennis world has long since been in awe” of the Serb.
But he also said: “It is difficult to think that he is not at the peak of his powers.”
Djokovic, 27, has won four singles major titles, including three titles in his last 12 months.
He has a record number of ranking titles, with a haul of 32, which puts him only three behind Roger Federer in the all-time list of most singles grand slam titles.
A member of the Serbian national team, Djokovic has also won a record number of Grand Slam singles titles over the last three years.
Having made their first appearance in a Grand Slam final when he beat Novak Djokovic in the 2014 US Open final, the Belarusian was then beaten by Andy Murray in last year’s Australian final, which in turn was lost to Novak.
The victory over Roger Federer in the 2016 Wimbledon final had seen him reach the final of the last three grand slams.
He has also made two more appearance in the final of the Australian, with his loss to Federer in the doubles final in 2017.
In that 2017 quarter final, however, he did take out his first ever Grand Slam singles title.
It was a victory that saw him qualify for the Wimbledon last year, and a two-set victory against Roger Federer.
Djokovic is currently enjoying a career-best season so far in 2017.
He has gone 21-1 in career clay-court matches, with
