LIVE: Novak saga 'starting to affect players'

Good greeting and invited to Wide World of Sports' sum of the summertime of tennis. There's plentifulness of enactment astir erstwhile again today, with play astatine some the Sydney and Adelaide tournaments, arsenic good arsenic the last time of qualifying for the Australian Open.

If you'd similar to drawback up connected everything that happened yesterday, and determination was plentifulness of play some connected and disconnected the court, you tin click here.

As accustomed this morning, each eyes stay connected satellite No.1 Novak Djokovic, and his visa saga. There's inactive nary connection from migration curate Alex Hawke connected whether oregon not he'll intervene and footwear the Serbian retired of Australia.

The gully for the season's archetypal Grand Slam tournament was held yesterday, pursuing a 75 infinitesimal delay, with Djokovic drafting chap Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic successful the opening round, though there's inactive provisions successful the rules to cater for Djokovic withdrawing from the tournament.

If Djokovic pulls retired earlier Sunday, 5th effect Andrey Rublev would instrumentality his spot successful the draw, portion a Lucky Loser (a subordinate beaten successful qualifying) would get a spot if Djokovic pulls retired aft the Order of Play is announced connected Sunday afternoon.

Former Australian Davis Cup subordinate Sam Groth spoke to Nine's Today this morning, noting that the longer this saga drags connected the much it impacts his chap players.

"Whichever mode it goes a determination has to beryllium made," Groth said.

"It's starting to impact the players, the mode they prepare, yesterday they were waiting astir an other hr to find retired who they play.

"Novak's opponent, Miomir Kecmanovic, helium doesn't cognize whether he's going to play Novak, oregon a Lucky Loser, oregon Andrey Rublev."

World No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas said yesterday that Djokovic's anti-vax stance was making the vaccinated players "look similar fools", a stance Groth agreed with.

"Stefanos Tsitsipas is idiosyncratic we should perceive to, I've been speaking to a batch of the players successful Adelaide, and his sentiment is being reflected by galore of them," helium said.

"A batch of the players made the determination to get vaccinated, whether they wanted to oregon not, to travel down to play the Australian Open.

"I deliberation a batch of the players that made the determination conscionable to beryllium capable to travel down to Melbourne Park are present feeling similar it's 1 regularisation for Novak and 1 regularisation for everybody else."

All eyes stay connected the migration minister, but Groth pointed retired that whitethorn not beryllium the extremity of the matter, with the anticipation of an appeal.

"I conjecture erstwhile there's an intent to deport, Novak has to marque a determination whether he's going to enactment and effort and instrumentality a bridging visa and combat that," helium explained.

"He's lasting his crushed astatine the moment, it doesn't look similar he's going anyplace connected his ain accord, astatine the infinitesimal it looks similar we're going to get Novak Djokovic playing astatine slightest the archetypal circular astatine Melbourne Park."

Regardless of however this plays out, Groth says the build-up to the Australian Open has been acold from perfect for the nine-time champion.

"It has to person had an impact," helium said.

"Even spending the clip successful the migration hotel, helium wasn't capable to get retired and practice, helium wasn't capable to devour the mode helium usually does.

"Mentally it's a immense distraction, I deliberation Tennis Australia is going to large lengths to support him protected, playing signifier sets, signifier matches down closed doors.

"It's surely a antithetic mode for him to prepare, thing he's ne'er gone through, thing helium would ne'er person expected to spell through.

"I deliberation Novak has gone astir this each the incorrect way. It's a distraction helium doesn't need, but it's a distraction everybody progressive with the tourney didn't need."