Monday, November 1st, 2021
Will Nobody bring the Australian Open?
The widespread vaccination spasm among tennis stars
Tennis star Novak Djokovic is not alone in the tennis circus with his skepticism about the corona vaccination. Many do not want to be vaccinated. They are not allowed to compete in the Australian Open. World number two Medvedev wants to play, but does not want to talk about his vaccination status.
The Australian Open in Melbourne will be the pinnacle of vaccination truth. It’s about the first tennis title of the new year (January 17th to 30th), but currently everything revolves around the corona vaccination. Because only vaccinated people are allowed to enter Australia and thus have the chance to participate in the Grand Slam tournament. This was last announced by Dan Andrews, Prime Minister of the State of Victoria. As a result, the start of defending champion and “vaccine skeptic” Novak Djokovic from Serbia is in acute danger.
“We are banning people who are not vaccinated from pubs, cafes, restaurants, the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and all sorts of other events,” said Andrews in a statement, adding: “We will not apply for a waiver. That is that Problem basically solved. ” Djokovic is by far not the only tennis professional who apparently rejects the vaccination. According to the professional organization ATP, around a third of the men on the tour are not vaccinated against the corona virus – this could mean that the field of participants for Melbourne could shrink extremely.
The Russian world number two Daniil Medvedev has now announced that he wants to compete, but currently does not disclose any information about his vaccination status. “I want to play there,” said the professional tennis player in the run-up to the Masters in Paris, “but I won’t say whether I’ll be seen there in January.”
He appreciates Djokovic’s attitude and also wants to keep medical information “private”, says Medvedev: “At some point I decided to keep my medical data secret, unless it is obvious.” Anyone playing in Australia early next year would be “clearly vaccinated. I’m ready to play in Australia and that’s all I have to say.”
Djokovic was also covered on Sunday on the subject. “There is no official announcement, and as long as that is the case, I will not comment on it,” said the world number one. He will make a decision for or against a trip when the Australian Association has expressed its opinion.
Djokovic feels discriminated against
Even for the Greek world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem from Austria, it is currently not going to Australia. In Thiem’s case, the Austrian Ministry of Health got involved and asked him to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The 28-year-old had voiced his concerns in early October. The currently injured Thiem had said that he wanted to wait for the vaccine from the US pharmaceutical company Novavax, which uses a different technology for its vaccine. The 2020 US Open winner is also open to vaccines that have already been approved if he has no other choice. Health Minister and doctor Wolfgang Mückstein offered Thiem a meeting “to remove his insecurities”. Conventional, so-called “inactivated” vaccines are unlikely to be available until 2022. In addition, there is “no evidence that they have any advantages over the current vaccines,” said Mückstein.
Djokovic was “disappointed” not only in sport, but also in the world in general, about the discord that has been sown between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, “he said recently. It is “terrible” when someone is discriminated against because they are making a decision for themselves.
Fair or not, Djokovic, like all other professionals, has to consider whether he wants to meet the requirements of the authorities. Should the exceptional athlete from Belgrade say yes to this, he has a great chance of becoming the sole Grand Slam record champion. The nine-time winner of the Australian Open is currently tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 20 titles at the highest level.