Melbourne, Jan. 13 (BUS): Novak Djokovic has now learned that he will face fellow Serbian Miomir Kikmanovic in the first round of his Australian Open title defense, if he is allowed to play, an Associated Press report said.
Djokovic’s visa status dominated attention until Thursday’s draw, after a 75-minute delay, to determine the men’s and women’s singles draw for the first major tennis tournament of 2022.
It was still forgotten after that. Australia’s immigration minister was still considering whether to leave the nine-time Australian Open champion and defending champion, who has not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Djokovic, the top-ranked, had his visa revoked upon arrival in Melbourne last week when he was refused a vaccination exemption, but he won a legal battle on procedural grounds that allowed him to remain in the country.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has been studying the issue since a judge returned Djokovic’s visa last Monday. The tournament starts next Monday.
If allowed to stay, Djokovic’s bid to win the men’s 21st major title could mean a quarter-final against 7th seed Matteo Berrettini and possibly a semi-final match against Rafael Nadal or third seed Alexander Zverev.
He tied with Nadal and Roger Federer in 20 Grand Slam titles, and lost an all-time record chance when he lost the US Open final to Daniil Medvedev last year.
Medvedev, who also ended Djokovic’s career in Grand Slam tournaments for a calendar year with this win in New York, is on the opposite end of the draw as the second seed in Australia.
He reached the finals here last year and could have met local favorite Nick Kyrgios in the second round, as well as fifth seed Andrei Rublev, 9th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, John Isner in the tie quarter. He is seeded to meet No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals.
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