Novak Djokovic is welcome at Australian Open, says tournament director; Russian and Belarusian players can compete here, too
The tournament director, Daniel Gombor, said both Novak Djokovic and Roberto Bautista Agut could play at the Australian Open which takes place in November.
Gombor, who works with the Federation Internationale de Tennis, said the tournament was happy to welcome both of them to the tournament.
“We would be happy to welcome a world-famous player like Novak Djokovic, and a person with the record of winning 50 Grand Slams,” said Gombor.
“Bautista Agut can also show his tennis ability at this time.”
Agut is one player who could be in trouble at the start of a new career now he has retired from the tour. The world No4 could be banned for two years from competing in all professional tennis competitions, with a two-year suspension of his results, according to the ATP.
There are concerns that Agut could be a repeat of the 2006 case of Boris Becker when the German was found guilty of fixing his results in the US Open in 2006.
As a long time member of the Fed Cup and an excellent tennis player, Agut will be in good company at the Open.
Djokovic, who has also reached the quarterfinals at this year’s Australian Open, is not as famous as Agut.
But the Serb is still well regarded on the tour and at his peak he was considered one of the world’s top players, with his performance on his home soil the best yet.
He has not made it to the final of any of the Slams and he did not have a good record in Australian Open, losing to Stan Wawrinka in 2004 in the third round.
Gombor praised Djokovic’s achievements, especially the recent performance at the US Open, saying he had