Before the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic made a lot of headlines. The probably unvaccinated Serb is not allowed to travel “Down Under”. There is therefore criticism from a competitor.
Tennis star Rafael Nadal (35) has little understanding of the chaotic situation around his rival Novak Djokovic (34) shortly before the Australian Open. “I think if he wanted he would play here in Australia without a problem. He took a different path, he made his own decisions. And everyone is free to make their own decisions, but then there are consequences.” said Nadal.
Djokovic is currently not allowed to enter Australia. The visa of the Grand Slam record champion was revoked by the authorities after his arrival on Wednesday for failure to meet the pandemic entry requirements, the Serb is in a quarantine hotel for immigrants in Melbourne.
He felt sorry for Djokovic too, but “there are rules, and if you don’t want to be vaccinated, you can run into problems,” said Nadal, emphasizing that Djokovic “had known the conditions for many months”: “The only thing What is clear to me is that if you are vaccinated you can play at the Australian Open and anywhere. And I think the world has suffered enough not to obey the rules. “
Zverev holds back
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev is in the turmoil about Djokovic’s refused entry and does not want to take a clear position.
“At the end of the day it would have helped if he had been vaccinated,” said the man from Hamburg at the ATP Cup in Sydney after his defeat by Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime: “But everyone makes their own decisions. I don’t know the whole situation.”
Nadal’s appeal for medicine
Nadal was already infected with Corona himself and has “been vaccinated twice”. His illness threw him back in preparation for the Australian Open (from January 17th). “I felt very tired and had a fever,” said Nadal after his first match of the year in Melbourne.
Nadal also appealed to trust science in the fight against Corona. “I believe what people who know medicine say. And if they say we need to be vaccinated, we need to get vaccinated.”
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