Novak Djokovic remains in doubt for the Australian Open, saying he is awaiting a final announcement on travel and entry conditions before embarking on another title defense at Melbourne Park.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said last week that unvaccinated players would be free to participate in the Open if they complete two weeks in quarantine.

But Victoria Prime Minister Dan Andrews has slammed the door, insisting – as have unvaccinated fans – that unvaccinated players will not be allowed into Melbourne Park.

Djokovic, who tested positive for COVID-19 last year, has repeatedly refused to disclose his vaccine status.

Victoria has introduced a vaccination mandate for professional athletes as she battles a resurgence of coronavirus cases.

Djokovic was evasive when asked Sunday in Paris about the likelihood of playing the Open.

“Well I’m going to decide if I’m going to Australia or not after seeing the official statement from Tennis Australia,” said the world number 1 and nine-time Open champion, in his first press conference since his US. Open. final defeat against Daniil Medvedev in September.

“At this time, we don’t have any official announcement or statement. So until it’s released, I won’t talk about it anymore, because I don’t want to be part of the stories about assumptions and assumptions. .

“When the official conditions to travel to Australia and play in Australia are gone, then obviously I’ll see what I personally do with that, and also the larger group of players, you know, because the situation is obviously different in Australia than most parts of the world. “

Djokovic was forced to apologize after hosting a charity event in Serbia in 2020 without any social distancing measures in place, after which a number of players, including the 20-time Grand Slam champion himself, were tested. positive for the virus.

Making his return to the Paris Masters this week, Djokovic is focusing on the end of the year No.1 for a seventh time, a record.

“The year-end No.1 is on the line between Medvedev and myself,” he said.

“So that’s obviously the goal for the end of the season, apart from trying to do well in Davis Cup with the national team.”

A finalist in this year’s Australian Open final against Djokovic, a shy Medvedev has also not confirmed his participation in Melbourne Park.

Although eager to play, the Russian also refuses to disclose his vaccination status.

“I’ve always said it, I really like Novak’s response to this. It doesn’t matter if it’s a vaccine, a leg injury, a head injury… I want to keep my doctor private for a reason, ”Medvedev said on Sunday.

“I feel like tennis is such a brutal sport where you are always alone against your opponent, and any information you give him can go against you.

“If you play against Australia it is obvious that you are vaccinated. This is why I said that I am ready to play against Australia.

“But I won’t say if you’ll see me there, but we’ll see in January.”

Medvedev, who will end his year after the Davis Cup final in early December, called on officials to shorten the length of the season and reduce player workload.

“We’re probably the only top sport that plays 11 months a year,” he said.

“So you’re going to have about two and a half weeks off-season to prepare for the Australian Open, which is obviously not enough.”