Nadal on Djokovic: "There are rules, and if you don't want to be vaccinated, you can run into problems"

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Novak Djokovic

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Julian Finney / Getty Images

The immigration thriller about the Serbian tennis professional Novak Djokovic continues.

The world number one will find out on Monday at the earliest whether he will be able to compete at the Australian Open a week later.

Then a court in Melbourne should decide on Djokovic's objection to the visa withdrawal by the Australian border authorities.

Although he felt sorry for Djokovic, "there are rules, and if you don't want to be vaccinated, you can run into problems," said Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal about his rival.

“He took a different path, he made his own decisions.

And everyone is free to make their own decisions, but then there are consequences, ”Nadal continued.

He added that Djokovic "had known the conditions for many months".

The people in Australia went through difficult times because of the pandemic.

Therefore, he could understand her displeasure with the special permit for Djokovic, said Nadal.

Melbourne, where the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season begins on January 17th, had one of the longest lockdowns in the world at 262 days.

Nadal was already infected with Corona himself and has "been vaccinated twice".

His illness threw him back in preparation for the Australian Open (from January 17th).

"I felt very tired and had a fever," said Nadal after his first match of the year in Melbourne.

In the preparatory tournament for the Grand Slam highlight, he won against Ricardas Berankis from Lithuania 6: 2, 7: 5.

"My son is in Australian captivity tonight, but he's never been freer"

Nadal also appealed in the fight against Corona to trust science.

He believes in “what people who know medicine say.

And if they say we need to be vaccinated, we need to get vaccinated. "

Serbian President Vučić: »Political Witch Hunt«

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić raised serious allegations against it.

"What is not fair is the political witch hunt, in which everyone, including the Australian Prime Minister, pretends the rules apply to everyone," Vučić said on Thursday.

Vučić described the treatment of his compatriot as "infamous in the true sense of the word".

The Serbian government is campaigning for Djokovic to move to the house in Melbourne that he rented for the Australian Open until the final negotiation of his appeal.

Vučić senses a conspiracy.

"I fear that this relentless political persecution of Novak will continue until it can prove something," he said: "Because if you cannot defeat someone, then you resort to such things."

Djokovic's father speaks of "imprisonment"

Meanwhile, Djokovic's father has spoken up again: "My son is in Australian captivity tonight, but he has never been more free," Srdjan Djokovic told Serbian media - and made a questionable comparison: "From that moment on Novak became the Symbol and leader of the free world, the world of the poor and oppressed countries and peoples «, Srdjan Djokovic is further quoted there.

The allegedly unvaccinated Djokovic failed on Wednesday evening (local time) to enter Australia with the help of a highly controversial medical exemption.

The case causes a stir - and diplomatic anger.

ngo / ara / dpa / sid