The Australian Open 2022 is taking shape. Until a few days ago we practically only knew that it would be played from January 17 to 30, but in the last hours Craig Tiley has shed light on some of the hottest topics of today.
The director of the first Grand Slam of the season announced this Saturday that unvaccinated players will not be able to play the tournament, a measure that leaves the participation of some tennis players in the air, such as Novak Djokovic, which a few weeks ago said that it was not clear to travel to Australia if the restrictions were very harsh.
Tiley, who said he had also been in contact with Djokovic and his team, He said that in mid-December it will be known who will come and that international players are currently applying for a travel visa with the Australian government.
“I know you want to play, you have clearly indicated this and you know the conditions you would have to submit to in order to be eligible to play“he said about Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic
“Entry here will be determined around the beginning or mid-December on the entry deadline, so it will be known when a player has entered an event, so In the next two weeks you will have a good indication of where everyone is, because at that time there is an official list of who is going to be here.í “he added.
Those who will be safe, except for the unforeseen last minute, are Rafa Nadal and Daniil Medvedev, who confirmed their presence in a telephone conversation with the tournament director.
In the women’s team there will also be three important comebacks. Both Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams have already told Tiley that they will be in Melbourne to fight for the first Grand Slam of the season.
The most significant confirmed drop will be that of Roger Federer, who already announced a few days ago that his recovery from knee surgery will keep him off the slopes until at least the summer.
An absence of weight for a tournament that recovers 100% of the capacity, which means that the Rod Laver Arena will return to its capacity of about 15,000 spectators, like the other main stadiums.
The Rod Laver Arena will be 100% again
Semifinals on Friday
The great novelty of this edition will be the end of one of the traditions that made the Australian Open unique. Until now it was the only tournament whose men’s semi-finals were held on different days, one on Thursday and the other on Friday.
As well, from now on the two will be played on Friday, leaving the prime time of the day on Thursday for the two women’s semifinals, which were previously played in the day session.
In addition, the Minister of Sports of the State of Victoria, Martin Pakula, announced that Melbourne Park will host the Australian Open until 2044 under a new agreement negotiated with Tennis Australia.
For several years there has been speculation that Sydney and the state of New South Wales wanted to take the tournament away from Melbourne, but Saturday’s announcement appears to have put an end to any speculation about a move to the northeast of the largest city of Australia.
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