NOVAK DJOKOVIC will get a chance to defend his Australian Open title after receiving a medical exemption to travel to Melbourne, ending months of uncertainty about his participation because of the strict COVID-19 vaccination requirements in place for the tournament. The top-ranked Djokovic wrote on Instagram on Tuesday he has “an exemption permission.” Djokovic, who is seeking a record 21st Grand Slam singles title, has continually refused to reveal if he is vaccinated against the coronavirus. The Victoria state government has mandated that all players, staff and fans attending the Australian Open must be fully vaccinated unless there is a genuine reason why an exemption should be granted. Australian Open organizers quickly responded with a statement confirming Djokovic was on his way to Australia to compete at the tournament, which starts Jan. 17. He’d earlier withdrawn from Serbia’s team for the ATP Cup, which is being played this week in Sydney. “Djokovic applied for a medical exemption, which was granted following a rigorous review process involving two separate independent panels of medical experts,” the statement said. “One of those was the Independent Medical Exemption Review Panel appointed by the Victorian Department of Health. They assessed all applications to see if they met the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation guidelines.” Tennis Australia said the process included the “redaction of personal information to ensure privacy for all applicants,” with details of names, ages and nationalities removed. That means Djokovic was not obliged to make his exemption public. (SD-Agencies) | 