Novak Djokovic will be allowed to return to the Grand Slam tournament where he's had more success than anywhere else in his career in 2023.
It was announced on Tuesday that the nine-time Australian Open champion is going to be able to travel back to Melbourne after his visa ban was overturned by the government.
BREAKING by @rachelclun – Novak Djokovic will be allowed to contest the Australian Open tennis tournament next year after his visa ban was overturned by the federal government.https://t.co/TopAzfWbKv
— Stephanie Peatling (@srpeatling) November 15, 2022
Djokovic was not allowed to play in the 2022 Australian Open following one of the weirdest sagas that we've seen in professional sports.
While all tournament members were originally required to be vaccinated against Covid, the Serbian was first granted an exemption, resulting in his travel down to Australia.
When there, he was then detained, and, after days of waiting, it was announced that the exemption was revoked and he had to leave the country.
Odds for the 2023 Australian Open had somewhat implied that betting markets were confident that Djokovic would be playing, as he was already the betting favorite.
As of November 15, Djokovic is +155 at FanDuel to win his 10th Slam down under.
Behind Djokovic is the man who has fallen in two consecutive Australian Open finals, Daniil Medvedev. The 2021 US Open champion is +280 to win a second Grand Slam title.
The most recent Grand Slam winner, Carlos Alcaraz, is +350 to take home a second consecutive one. Alcaraz lost to Matteo Berrettini in a fifth set tiebreaker in Melbourne last year.
Rafael Nadal, the reigning Australian Open champion, comes in at +750 to defend his title, while the surging Nick Kyrgios is +1200.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (+1400), Jannik Sinner (+1400) and Alexander Zverev (+1700) are the only other players listed shorter than +2000 to win the event.
The Australian Open will be played from January 16 to January 29 in 2023.
