Novak Djokovic's Australian Open defence in doubt as officials maintain stance on vaccines

World No 1 has declined to reveal his vaccination status and said he was unsure if he would defend his title at Melbourne Park

Novak Djokovic kisses the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after beating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Sunday, February 21. Getty

Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev after the trophy presentation. AP

Novak Djokovic celebrates victory at Melbourne Park. Getty

Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his ninth title at Melbourne Park. Getty

Novak Djokovic celebrates after beating Daniil Medvedev. AFP

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after beating Daniil Medvedev of Russia in straight sets. AFP

Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev after the match. Getty

Spectators cheer Novak Djokovic after his victory in Australia. Reuters

Novak Djokovic after clinching match point against Daniil Medvedev. AFP

Novak Djokovic celebrates winning a point against Daniil Medvedev. Getty

Daniil Medvedev bounces his racquet off the ground. Getty

Novak Djokovic plays a forehand at Melbourne Park. Getty

A puzzled Daniil Medvedev during the match. Getty

Novak Djokovic applauds a Daniil Medvedev shot. AFP

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in action. Reuters

An exasperated Novak Djokovic in Melbourne. AFP

Daniil Medvedev smashes his racquet off the ground. AFP

Daniil Medvedev's mangled racquet. Getty

Novak Djokovic in action at Melbourne Park. EPA

Daniil Medvedev at full stretch trying to return a Novak Djokovic shot. AFP

Novak Djokovic's Australian Open title defence has been placed in doubt after an official from Victoria state said there will not be any special deals with unvaccinated athletes to allow them to compete at major events.

World No 1 Djokovic, level on 20 Grand Slam titles with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, declined to reveal his vaccination status again this week and said he was unsure if he would defend his Australian Open crown as authorities work out Covid-19 restrictions for the tournament. The 34-year-old Serb is the most successful player in the tournament's history with nine titles.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said he opposed special arrangements to let unvaccinated athletes compete in the state, which is scheduled to host the Grand Slam at Melbourne Park in January.

"On the question of vaccination, no," he told a media briefing. "(The virus) doesn't care what your tennis ranking is, or how many Grand Slams you've won. It's completely irrelevant. You need to be vaccinated to keep yourself safe and to keep others safe."

Tennis Australia, which organises the Grand Slam, declined to comment.

Victoria, which is due to exit a near three-month lockdown this week, recently included professional athletes in a vaccine mandate covering millions of "authorised workers", without clarifying whether it applied to athletes from overseas or other Australian states.

Andrews suggested the mandate covered international athletes, too.

"Professional sport is part of those (items on the) authorised worker list and they have to be double-dose vaccinated," he said.

Andrews said Victoria's stance could be a "moot point", given the federal government might not issue visas to unvaccinated athletes.

"I don't think an unvaccinated tennis player is going to get a visa to come into this country and if they did get a visa they'd probably have to quarantine for a couple of weeks," he added.

"I don't think that the person you indicated (Djokovic) or any other tennis player, let's not personalise it ... or golfer or Formula One driver will even get a visa to get here. If I'm wrong I'm sure the federal government will let you know."

Australia's borders have been shut to non-residents through the pandemic, although authorities have issued visas to athletes and sports staff for major events, including the last Australian Open in February, when players had to undergo 14 days of quarantine prior to the tournament.

For many players, they were allowed out of their hotel rooms to practice for a limited number of hours per day, although almost 50 athletes were forced to undertake hard quarantine and were unable to leave their rooms after positive cases were discovered on their flights to Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government would relax border controls for residents and their overseas-based family members from next month but international tourists and other visa classes would have to wait longer.

Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, has been locked down since August as authorities scrambled to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant.

Restrictions for the city's five million people will be eased from Friday when 70 per cent of the adult population in Victoria is expected to be fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated people, however, will remain barred from sports events along with restaurants, pubs and other parts of the economy.

Andrews said the ban on unvaccinated fans may apply right through to the 2022 Formula One Australian Grand Prix in April.

"This is here for a while ... We're not going to be essentially encouraging people to not get vaccinated because they reckon they can wait a few months or a few weeks," he said. "You can't wait out coronavirus."