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According to reports, negotiations are underway between Novak Djokovic and the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) to lure the Serb to play in a tournament in Moscow this year.
Vladimir Kamelzon, an eminent coach and member of the RTF, is leading the effort to get Djokovic to play in Russia. Kamelzon spoke highly of the Serb's independent assertions in an interview with Russian sports portal championat.com.
In light of Novak Djokovic's criticism of the All England Lawn Tennis Club for having banned Russian and Belarusian players from Wimbledon, the veteran tennis administrator stressed that the Serb was "unique" and had independent views.
“I think Djokovic should play everywhere. He is the first racket of the world. Djokovic has shown that he is an independent person, despite the halo of the first racket of the world," Kamelzon said.
"He is a unique person, he has his own opinion," he continued. "Djokovic knows how to defend his justice. In my eyes, he is the No. 1 player in the history of tennis. He has a special relationship."
Getting into the specifics of the effort to get the Serb to play in Russia, Kamelzon revealed that the Russians have been working towards inviting Djokovic for a tournament in the country for some time now.
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Mr. Kamelzon also added that the RTF had attempted to get the Serb to play in the St. Petersburg Open in the past.
"As for his possible participation in the Moscow Open Championship, we have been trying to lure him for a long time. We tried it in St. Petersburg. Maybe at such a time we will also be able to lure to our tournament, we are negotiating," he said.
"We are preparing a whole program together with the FTR and Mr. Tarpishchev for 2022."
Novak Djokovic is not the only player being approached to play at Russian events
Russia hosts ATP Challenger and ATP 250 series events such as the Kazan Kremlin Cup, Lermontov Cup, St Petersburg Open and the Kremlin Cup. Most of these tournaments have either been suspended post the war in Ukraine or have been moved out of the country this year.
When asked if players apart from Novak Djokovic were being approached to play in Moscow, Vladimir Kamelzon replied in the affirmative and added that the basis behind the effort was to promote the sport and that there was no politics involved.
"Are we negotiating with any of the top tennis players besides Novak? We are negotiating with many. However, when we are negotiating, we do not advertise anything," Kamelzon said.
"Everything depends primarily on the calendar of those with whom we are talking: someone responds, someone has their own arguments, someone wants to come. We don't do politics. We are engaged only in tennis, because it is a unique sport that cannot be in politics in any way," he added.
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