Novak Djokovic unsuccessfully asks for a personal cook in the quarantine hotel

Meat has not been on the menu for years for the avowed vegan Novak Djokovic. But now the tennis star has to do without the proverbial extra sausages of his personal chef for a few days. According to a report by “The Age”, the 34-year-old asked to be allowed to bring his own cook to the quarantine hotel in Melbourne. However, this request from the Serb was refused.

Instead, Djokovic is now to prepare the food from the hotel’s own kitchen, taking into account the eating habits of the 20-time Grand Slam champion, who among other things also renounces gluten.

The Czech tennis player Renata Voracova was also staying in the same hotel as Djokovic. The 38-year-old now complained to the Prague newspaper “MF Dnes” about the untenable conditions in the place where, like the Serb, she was also in isolation.

“I was locked in a room with nowhere to go,” said Voracova, and went on to say: “I could only open my windows a few centimeters. There were guards everywhere, including under my window. Did they think that I would jump and flee? ». For the Czech woman, the hotel felt “a bit like in prison”.

Like Djokovic, Voracova had his visa withdrawn before the Australian Open. In contrast to the men’s world number one, the doubles player was allowed into the country for the time being and was even used on the tennis court at a preparatory tournament in Melbourne. Shortly afterwards, however, her visa was revoked and she was placed in quarantine. The 38-year-old has since left Australia and is back home in her Czech homeland.

Whether Djokovic will still get an entry permit and compete in the first major tournament of the year will probably be decided at the beginning of next week. On Monday at 10:00 a.m. local time (Sunday, midnight Swiss time), the court hearing is scheduled in Melbourne, which will decide whether he has to travel home or stay Down Under. On Saturday it was also announced that the entire hearing can be followed worldwide. At least that’s what it says on the official website of the court in Melbourne – including a link to the stream.

In the hearing, the probably unvaccinated 34-year-old wants to prove the validity of his entry papers and show that the border authorities wrongly refused entry to Australia and instructed him to leave the country again within 24 hours.

According to the Serbian journalist and Djokovic insider Saša Ozmo, Novak Djokovic’s brother Djordje says that even if he won in court it would be questionable whether the nine-time Australian Open champion would defend his title: “Will Novak play if he does Calling wins? I don’t know and I think that Novak doesn’t know either because he’s full of emotions. But I think tennis is the last thing he thinks about right now ».