WHAT’S NEXT FOR NO-VAX? WIMBLEDON AND FRENCH FINE BUT U.S. IS NO-GO
IT WAS less than three hours between Australia’s court handing down its final verdict and Novak Djokovic arriving at Melbourne airport to check in for his flight home. Even quicker came the condemnation from his home country, where Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic accused the Australian government of ‘physical and psychological mistreatment’ of their leading sports superstar. There was more colourful hyperbole from the player’s father Srdjan, who reflected on the episode via Instagram, posting: ‘The assassination attempt on the best sportsman in the world is over, 50 bullets to Novak’s chest.’ Djokovic left behind a tournament that was finally kicking off last night, with players relieved that the battle for the season’s first Grand Slam is now the main centre of attention. As he boarded his late-evening flight bound for the Middle East, there was much for Djokovic to contemplate. He will not be sharing his thoughts for the next fortnight, apparently, keen not to distract from the tournament. One aspect to consider ought to be the role of his family, whose bellicose statements — and shutting down of press conferences when awkward questions arose — cannot have helped his cause. He must also decide where he goes from here schedule-wise and if he is prepared to plough on unvaccinated with all the complications that is likely to bring him. At present, the Masters events in March, at Indian Wells and Miami, are a major problem for him due to requirements for travellers to be jabbed, both for entry into the country and the tournaments themselves. There is not, however, a blanket ban on the non-vaxed around the circuit. He could, in theory, play in the Middle East next month, for example. As for the French Open and Wimbledon, there may well be shifts in policy before then, but as it stands he could find a way to play. While the ATP Tour issued a statement yesterday emphasising that it urges all remaining players to be inoculated, it has stopped short of making it an absolute demand, as has the WTA Tour.
According to insiders, there exists the fear of being subjected to a legal challenge. What is clear is that Djokovic is going to face multiple complexities in his scheduling — unless he does what many millions of others have done and simply gets himself jabbed. He has also damaged his own standing among his peer group, although he was not without support last night. Canadian player Vasek Pospisil, Djokovic’s co-founder of the Professional Tennis Players’ Association, tweeted: ‘Novak would never have gone to Australia if he had not been
given an exemption to enter the country by the government. He would have skipped the Australian Open and been home with his family and no one would be talking about this mess.’ John Isner used the same platform to say: ‘Nole always has and always will be class. He’s an absolute legend in my book that has brought so much good to millions around the world. This isn’t right.’ The departure of the nine-times champion sees US Open champion Daniil Medvedev as the new Australian Open favourite, ahead of Alex Zverev. If either wins the Slam, Djokovic loses his world
No 1 ranking. What will be fascinating to see is how players react to the opportunity. Medvedev, for example, has never been in the position of being a champion-in-waiting, something that brings with it significant pressure. Djokovic will be relying on the younger generation to prevent Rafael Nadal pulling ahead in the Grand Slam title race, which stands at 20-all. Out of the seven British players in the main draw, all but one are due to play tomorrow. World No 12 Cam Norrie was this morning expected to begin his campaign against American Seb Korda.