The suspense stretches.
The Australian Open draw, scheduled for Thursday in Melbourne, has been delayed, the Australian Tennis Federation has announced.
"We are late," said a spokesperson for the federation.
The draw for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year was initially scheduled for 3 p.m. local (4 a.m. GMT).
At the same time, we are still awaiting the decision on world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic, a decision which could be made on Thursday.
The champion, who continues to train behind closed doors in central Melbourne, remains under the threat of deportation after the episode of his entry into Australian territory on January 5.
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Unless there is an extremely rare exemption, staff members and players are required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The vast majority are, but world number one Novak Djokovic is not.
The champion presented himself with an exemption from vaccination against Covid-19 due to contamination in December.
Initially turned back at the border and placed in a detention center, which caused a worldwide incident, the defending champion was released a few days later by decision of a judge.
But the Australian government has not ruled out deporting him anyway, under its discretion.
"An extremely safe event"
At the same time, the government of the State of Victoria announced that the capacity of the public at the Australian Open tennis tournament will be limited to 50% due to an increase in the number of cases of Covid-19 and of hospitalizations in the Melbourne area. "This updated rules for the Australian Open means that the public, players and staff can expect an extremely safe event," State Tourism Minister Jaala Pulford said in a statement.
For this first Grand Slam tournament of the year, which begins Monday, the wearing of a mask will be compulsory for spectators, except for eating and drinking, and rules of distance must be respected inside.
Last year, similar rules were put in place initially.
But a five-day confinement decreed in Melbourne due to a resurgence of the epidemic had forced organizers to play most matches behind closed doors.
Eventually, small groups of spectators were allowed into the Melbourne Park sports complex.
As of Thursday, the state of Victoria recorded 953 hospitalized Covid-19 patients, a record number, and more than 220,000 cases of ongoing contamination.
