(Melbourne) Spanish player Rafael Nadal has hit out at Serbian rival Novak Djokovic, as have many players who lament the case overshadowing interest in the Australian Open.
Posted at 10:39 p.m.
Updated at 11:05 p.m.
“The Australian Open is much more important than any player,” Rafael Nadal said on Saturday of Djokovic, who is fighting a legal battle against his expulsion from Australia.
“The Australian Open will be a great Australian Open with or without him,” said the No.oh 6 in the world to reporters from Melbourne Park, saying he “disagrees with a lot of things he has done in the last two weeks”.
This declaration came a few hours after the return to the administrative detention center of “Djoko” in Melbourne. The Serb wins a 21and title in the Grand Slam tournament, which would be a new record, with one title more than the Swiss Roger Federer and than Nadal himself.
PHOTO MARK BAKER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Novak Djokovic
His visa was canceled for the second time by the Australian government, which maintains that the player not vaccinated against COVID-19 constitutes a public danger.
The Serb, who is seeking a 10and victory in this tournament, could be expelled after the summary hearings scheduled for Saturday and Sunday before a federal court.
Japanese Naomi Osaka, 13and world, for his part qualified the Djokovic saga on Saturday as “regrettable” and “sad”.
While acknowledging that he does not know the Serbian player well, Osaka says he is sad that “this great player” is remembered for this case rather than for his exploits on the courts.
“But I also think it’s not up to the tennis players, but up to the government to decide how Australia is going to handle this,” added the player while calling the case “regrettable”.
Asked if she thought that the player’s legal tussle to stay in Australia could have an impact on him, the Japanese, who is experiencing psychological difficulties, replied: “Honestly, I don’t. don’t know so well. »
“Talking about tennis”
PHOTO SIMON BAKER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Stefanos Tsitsipas
This week, the noh World 4 Stéfanos Tsitsipás had harsh words for the Serb, saying he plays “by his own rules” and “makes the majority of players look like idiots”.
However, he did not wish to react to this again on Saturday. “I’m here to talk about tennis, not Novak Djokovic,” said the 23-year-old Greek.
I’m not going to lie. It has been in the headlines for the past two weeks. He received a lot of attention. A lot of people talk about it, of course, [et] that’s why I’m here to talk about tennis. We haven’t talked enough about tennis in the last two weeks, which is a shame.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
For his part, the Australian Alex de Minaur, 32and world player, admitted to being tired of this story, believing that it harms the tournament and other players: “This situation has diverted a lot of the spotlight from us, the players. We are here to play the Australian Open. »
He recalled that “Australians have been through a lot” and “have had a very hard time” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They made a lot of effort to protect themselves and their borders,” he recalled, saying that to enter the country, “like all other players”, Djokovic had to “be fully vaccinated”.
Former world number one Andy Murray, who will play at the Internationals, said on Friday he hoped “everything is resolved”. “I think it would be good for everyone if that was the case,” added the Scotsman.
The 34-year-old veteran felt that “it just feels like it’s been dragging on for quite a while now, it’s not great for tennis, not great for the Australian Open, not great for Novak.” However, he refused to overwhelm Djokovic when “he is on the ground”.