Saturday, January 08, 2022
Next round in the Djokovic dispute
Tennis boss celebrates “incredible work”
Tennis ace Novak Djokovic is still in a deportation hotel in Melbourne. Conditions are bad. There could be a decision on his participation in the Australian Open on Monday. Until then, the Australian Association will absolve itself of any complicity.
In the immigration affair surrounding Grand Slam record winner Novak Djokovic, the Australian tennis association considers itself innocent. Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley praised the team’s “incredible work” in handling the matter in an internal video leaked to the Sunday Herald Sun newspaper.
“There is a lot of finger pointing and a lot of blame, but I can assure you our team has done an incredible job,” Tiley said on camera. He went on to say that the organization had chosen not to raise the issue publicly because of Djokovic’s lawsuit. Tiley said his team “did everything they could, according to the instructions it was given.”
Tennis Australia was previously accused of misleading the players through a memo published in the Australian media telling them that a recent infection was a reason for a temporary medical immunization waiver. Before leaving for Melbourne, 34-year-old Serb Djokovic, a vaccine skeptic, bragged on social media that he had been granted a waiver, which is widely believed to be due to his recent infection with the virus.
Adverse conditions in the Park Hotel
Djokovic has been stuck in a quarantine hotel since landing on Wednesday, and the Australian authorities have denied him entry because of apparently incorrect documents. A court should decide on Monday. Djokovic wants to defend his title at the Australian Open (from January 17). Double specialist Renata Voracova, who shares the same fate as the superstar, told Czech media about the conditions in the Park Hotel in Melbourne: “They bring me food and there is a guard in the hallway. You have to report, everything is rationed. I feel a little like in jail. “
Djokovic asked for access to his own cook and a private tennis court in order to continue his preparation for the Australian Open, reported Australian media. But these wishes had been denied to him by the immigration authorities. No special treatment for the tennis star. His offer to go to a rented house with training facilities with a private security service until the decision was made on Monday was therefore rejected.
Djokovic received expressions of respect from the Australian tennis bully Nick Kyrgios. “If he’s allowed to play at the Australian Open, he’ll be unstoppable. I guess he’s going to be pissed off,” said Kyrgios on the sidelines of a preparatory tournament in Sydney: “You won’t be that big a champion if you’re not able to overcome such adversity. I’m sure he has come through much tougher times than spending a few more days in hotel rooms. “