Scandalous decision on Djoković. “Spit in the face. Compromise”

In October, the first information appeared that only vaccinated tennis players could participate in the Grand Slam Australian Open. “When the government opened its borders, it said you had to be double vaccinated in order to visit Australia. This is a universal rule, not only for tennis players. ”

On December 9, tournament director Craig Tiley argued: “I want to be clear, no one will play at the Australian Open if he is not vaccinated.” “Medical exception”.

Djoković treated as an exception

Most of the world’s top tennis players are already in Australia, where the Australian Open starts on January 17th. The big absentee was Novak Djoković, who has been challenging vaccination against COVID-19 for months. It was speculated whether the Serb would eventually play, and his time was running out – he had to fly to Australia until January 9 to be able to join the event. We know from Tuesday that he will be on time.

– I have a fantastic time with my loved ones, and today I’m going on a trip to Australia. With special permission – wrote a few hours ago Novak Djoković. This means it has been classified as a “medical exception”.

It is not known how many players have received a similar waiver. According to the ATP men’s tennis organization, 95 players from the top 100 rankings were vaccinated. The players were reluctant, but most convinced themselves after the decision of the Australian Open authorities.

What are the grounds for issuing such a permit? According to the regulations, it includes:

• “Serious adverse event” associated with the first dose
• acute medical condition
• inflammatory heart disease (in the last six months).
• pregnancy

What is the premise of the world’s best tennis player practicing one of the most physically demanding sports? As a reminder, he is the same player who won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments last year, and lost only in the final in New York.

Australians translate

Australians immediately issued a statement: “He applied for a sick leave, which was granted after a rigorous health screening process involving two separate independent panels of medical experts. Professionals assessed all the data to see if they met Australian Vaccine Advisory Group guidelines. “Tournament Director Crag Tiley commented briefly:” Fair and independent reports have been developed for assessing the application for sick leave. “

Australians may defend themselves, but it is hard to shake off the feeling that they have simply succumbed to a great champion. The tennis player, who is fighting for the 21st Grand Slam title, surrendered in this respect to his biggest rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. All three currently have 20 titles. The tournament in Melbourne is the favorite event of the Serbian tennis player. He won it nine times.

Equal and equal

It is hard to believe in the translations of Australians who a few days ago prevented Natalia Wichlancewa from competing in the Australian Open. A Russian tennis player has taken a Sputnik vaccine. The tournament authorities decided that they did not accept the preparations of this producer and the Russian woman was not allowed to enter the country. Only vaccination certificates from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderny and Johnson were accepted. It was also allowed to vaccinate with Sinovac, Sinopharm China and Bharat Biotech preparations – approved for use in Australia.

Some tennis players have openly admitted that they will not perform in Melbourne because they do not want to vaccinate. The most famous case is French doubles player Pierre-Hugues Herbert, winner of five Grand Slam tournaments in doubles, including the Australian Open 2020. Novak Djoković probably didn’t want to vaccinate either, but found a way to fight for his tenth triumph in Australia.

The decision is scandalous, shocking, because they have long announced that they will not make an exception for anyone. – I will not reveal my status, whether I have been vaccinated or not. This is a private matter and inappropriate investigation of my person – Djoković told Serbian portal “Blic” in October.

Those governing the state of Victoria, in which the city of Melbourne is located, replied: “It does not matter if you are number one in the world.” But did it ultimately matter? There will be no shortage of such speculations.

Djoković has in the past questioned the validity of vaccinations, not least for the coronavirus. He then backed out of it, but added that he needed to consider whether he wanted to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Djokovic can do more

You can hear voices about the discredit of the Australian authorities, which first argued that they would not let anyone in without vaccination, and finally, just before the tournament starts, they allow the best tennis player in the world to play. And this is in a country whose inhabitants had been in exceptionally hard lockdown for months. In Melbourne alone, with a population of five million, there has been a lockdown six times since the start of the pandemic. In total, this city was locked down for nine months – the longest in the world.

It is in Melbourne that in a few days there will be a huge tennis event with the participation of Novak Djokovic. The Australians apparently decided that it is more profitable for them to hire a player than to play without him. But will the tournament’s image, also countable into money, not suffer?

– Allowing a Serb to compete in the Australian Open is like spitting in the face of Australian residents – we read in comments on Australian social media. I wonder how the fans in Melbourne will approach Djokovic? All the confusion is, unfortunately, a logical consequence of the position of great tennis in relation to the Serbian tennis player.

Djokovic can do more. At the Tokyo Olympics, he threw a racket at the stands – thankfully empty. What was the penalty he received? None. A moment later, after the single defeat, he gave up the semi-final match of the mixed game, explaining the alleged shoulder injury, leaving his partner from the mix Nina Stojanović on the ice. – Only I know what I felt when I heard that I would not play the most important match in my life and I would not fight for the medal of the Olympics – Stojanović wrote on Instagram.