Australian Open director Craig Tiley on Wednesday urged Novak Djokovic to reveal the reason for the "
medical exemption
" which will allow him to participate in the first Grand Slam of the year, without ever having said whether he was vaccinated or not against Covid-19.
Read alsoWhy the controversial exemption of "Novax" Djokovic will not cure his popularity
"
It would certainly be helpful if Novak explained the conditions under which he applied for and obtained an exemption,
" Tiley, also president of the Australian Federation (TA), told reporters. "
I encourage him to talk to the community about this ... We have been going through a very difficult time over the past two years and I would appreciate some responses to that,
" he added.
The Australian tennis boss said, however, that the world number one had received no preferential treatment to obtain this exemption, during a process supervised by the Australian authorities and those of the State of Victoria. A total of 26 players or members of their staff, out of the 3,000 or so who made the trip to Australia, requested an exemption and only a few of them were satisfied, he revealed.
“
Anyone who meets the conditions has been allowed to enter. There was no special favor. There was no special treatment given to Novak
, ”Tiley insisted. Already winner of 20 Grand Slams, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Serbian Novak Djokovic is aiming for a record 21st title in Melbourne. The Australian Open, which begins on January 17, is his favorite tournament: it is in Melbourne that the Serbian won his first Grand Slam (2008), and no one has won there as much as him (nine victories ).
For months, “
Nole
” had cast doubt on his participation in the first Grand Slam of the year, due to the obligation for players to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter Australia and be able to compete in the tournament. He finally announced Tuesday that he had obtained a "
medical exemption
" allowing him to make the trip. The Australian Federation has taken refuge behind medical confidentiality in order not to justify this exemption.
This announcement in particular provoked negative reactions from some players denouncing a double standard, or in certain Australian press headlines, in a country where measures to fight against Covid-19 have been particularly strict. has never communicated on his vaccination status and spoke in April 2020 against compulsory vaccination, then envisaged to allow the resumption of tournaments despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
SEE ALSO -
Messi, Mbappé, Hakimi: the most beautiful goals of PSG in Ligue 1 over the year 2021
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/S7UVDTX7DREC7DXVCZN6MEKGBY.jpg)
