Novak Djokovic to play doubles at Adelaide International 1 ahead of 2023 Australian Open

After registering his name in the singles category of the Adelaide International 1 tournament, Novak Djokovic has also signed up for the doubles competition in the build-up to the 2023 Australian Open.

The ATP 250 event is all set to be played at the Memorial Drive Tennis Club from January 1-8, where the Serb has decided to team up with Vasek Pospisil of Canada. Having achieved a career-high doubles ranking of No. 114 in 2009, the Serbian has so far won only one doubles title. He partnered with former Israel player Jonathan Erlich at the Queen's Club Championships in 2010 and beat Slovakia's Karol Beck and Czech Republic's David Skoch in the finals.

Pospisil, on the other hand, was the fourth-ranked player in the doubles in 2015 and has pocketed as many as seven titles so far. The 32-year-old played a vital role in Canada's victory at the recently-concluded Davis Cup. Two more teams to join the Adelaide tournament are Andrey Rublev-Karen Khachanov and Jack Draper-Jannik Sinner.

Adelaide 1 is the only tournament in which Djokovic will play ahead of the Australian Open. The Grand Slam event will be played from January 16-29 and the Serb will aim to lift his 10th big title. He was deported last year due to his unvaccinated status against COVID-19 and could not play.

The government had also imposed a three-year ban on the 35-year-old, which was lifted by the new authorities in November. In a press release, Australia's Immigration Minister Andrew Giles revealed that the World No. 5 player's ban had been revoked due to the relaxations in Australia's COVID-19 rules.

“Since the cancellation of Mr. Djokovic's visa in January 2022, all COVID-19-related Australian border restrictions under the Biosecurity Act 2015 have been removed, including the requirement to provide evidence of COVID-19 vaccination status to enter Australia. He has subsequently been granted a temporary visa to enter Australia," the statement read.

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Novak Djokovic attended the Davis Cup finals, congratulated Canada on their win

Novak Djokovic (L) and Vasek Pospisil

Wildcard entrant Canada defeated Australia 2-0 in the finals of the Davis Cup for a maiden title. Although Vasek Pospisil's services were not needed on the last day, he contributed significantly throughout the tournament.

In a press conference after winning, Pospisil spoke about Novak Djokovic, who was present in the arena for the finals, congratulating Team Canada following their triumph.

"It was really cool for him to be there. He came and congratulated all of us afterwards, which is really cool. He's also obviously someone that knows what it's like to win the Davis Cup. It was cool to see him here," Pospisil said.