Novak Djokovic is welcome at Australian Open, says tournament director; Russian and Belarusian players can compete
At the end of the month, the top six seeds at the Australian Open will face each other, with Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray facing off in the quarter-finals.
The draw for the fortnight, which ends on Sunday, is the culmination of months of work by tournaments officials, which has seen Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic’s places in the top six secured.
And, on Wednesday, they found themselves on the same side, with Djokovic, the seven-time grand slam winner, welcoming Novak 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, and Murray, the 2011 Australian Open champion, winning 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (7) against fellow Briton Nick Kyrgios in the quarter-finals of the men’s Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic celebrates as he wins the men’s singles qualifying at the Australian Open in Melbourne [AAP]
Murray: ‘No more questions’
If one sentence can sum up this unprecedented run of success for Djokovic and Murray, it is: “It’s very difficult to be the best in the world for three months, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Their run was interrupted at Melbourne Park by an injury to Djokovic which, at best and worst, could have ended their careers. Instead, he has been the world No 2 in the rankings since July.
“In the last two months I feel like I’ve changed a lot,” he said. “I think I’ve evolved. For me, this is probably the most challenging period in my career so far. I’m trying to win the Australian Open, which is a major tournament.
“It will be hard to win the Australian Open if I’m no longer on form from November to February. I’ll do my utmost for it
