Melbourne (AP) – Germany’s best tennis player Alexander Zverev has criticized the subsequent visa withdrawal for Novak Djokovic.
“I don’t think it’s very fair for a person to come here and not be able to play,” said the 24-year-old from Hamburg. At the same time, however, Zverev also expressed understanding for the basic attitude of the Australian government in the dispute over the entry of the world number one from Serbia, who was not vaccinated against the corona virus.
The start of the Serbian defending champion Djokovic at the Grand Slam tournament starting on Monday is still questionable. A federal court in Melbourne will deal with the 34-year-old’s appeal on Sunday. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke declared the visa of the world number one invalid on Friday and justified it with the public interest. Djokovic is the record Australian Open winner with nine titles.
“I don’t know enough about the situation, but I think if it weren’t for Novak Djokovic, the world number one with 20 Grand Slam titles, all of that, it wouldn’t be such a big drama,” said Zverev.
In view of the high corona numbers in Melbourne, Zverev is severely restricting himself. Apart from training, he’s not going anywhere, said the 24-year-old from Hamburg on Saturday in Melbourne. “I’m not taking any risks. I want to play the tournament as well as possible.” A good 25,000 new cases were reported for the Australian state of Victoria on Saturday.
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