Australian Open 2022: Rafael Nadal slams Novak Djokovic – As an unvaccinated Novak Djokovic faces deportation from Australia, his rival Rafael Nadal has slammed him over the situation. Nadal backed the Australian government while saying that Djokovic is facing the consequences of his own actions. Follow Australian Open 2022 Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
“I think if he wanted, he would be playing here without a problem. He went through another – he made his own decisions. Everybody is free to take their own decisions, but there are some consequences,” Rafael Nadal said after his win over Ricardas Berankis in the Melbourne Summer Set.
Australian Open 2022: Rafael Nadal takes swipe against Novak Djokovic over A02022 participation ahead of 21st Grand Slam rivalry- check out
Here are Rafael Nadal’s full answers on the Novak Djokovic situation, which Nadal clearly thinks Djokovic created for himself.
Nadal has consistently backed the science of vaccines during the pandemic, so this is a pretty consistent line of answering for him. pic.twitter.com/K6Rsh7OVrr
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 6, 2022
Australian Open 2022: Rafael Nadal takes swipe against Novak Djokovic over A02022 participation ahead of 21st Grand Slam rivalry- check out
Australian Open 2022: How the Djokovic saga unfolded?
- Novak Djokovic has been vaccine-hesitant but has never spoken against it publicly.
- He was reluctant to take the Covid-19 jab and withdrew from the ATP Cup due to that.
- Australia’s stringent Covid restrictions need any incoming traveller to have double vaccination or face deportation.
- Tennis Australia confirmed that Djokovic would be playing in the Australian Open saying that he has received a vaccine exemption.
- Djokovic’s vaccine exemption triggers a backlash in Australia.
- On Wednesday, Djokovic arrived in Melbourne with his visa documents citing his Covid diagnosis six months ago for his unvaccinated status.
- The Australia Border Force suspects the visa application was not as per guidelines and sent it to the Victoria government for sponsoring his visa.
- Victoria government denies sponsorship and Novak Djokovic is detained, isolated from the rest in the airport.
- He was later taken to a Melbourne hotel where two police officers were guarding him.
- Australia PM Scott Morrison said he is not above the law and would be deported back to Serbia.
- Australian government cancelled Djokovic’s visa.
- Djokovic wins bid in court to stay in Melbourne till Monday.
Happy New Year! Wishing you all health, love & joy in every moment & may you feel love & respect towards all beings on this wonderful planet.
I’ve spent fantastic quality time with loved ones over break & today I’m heading Down Under with an exemption permission. Let’s go 2022! pic.twitter.com/e688iSO2d4
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 4, 2022
“Seems some rough situation. It’s normal that the people here in Australia get very frustrated with the case because they have been going through a lot of very hard lockdowns, and a lot of people were not able to come back home. I believe in what the people who know about medicine say, and if the people say that we need to get vaccinated, we need to get the vaccine. That’s my point of view,” Rafael Nadal added.
Australian Open 2022: Rafael Nadal takes swipe against Novak Djokovic over A02022 participation ahead of 21st Grand Slam rivalry- check out
The Djokovic situation triggered a backlash amongst Australians, who have been facing strict Covid lockdowns over the last two years and amongst many tennis players. Apart from Rafael Nadal, Jamie Murray and Liam Broady also voiced their dissatisfaction over entry to Djokovic.
Both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are chasing a record 21st Grand Slam in Australian Open. With Djokovic deported, Nadal will have a golden chance to make it 21.
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