On the very last days before one of the four Grand Slam tournaments starts, the same ritual always takes place in Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon, New York: At the “Media Days” some of the most well-known tennis professionals present themselves and talk about it again their shape, their expectations and what the vacation in Maldives was like. This time, however, there was no escape for the protagonists, who were now placed in front of the sponsors’ wall before the Australian Open – of course the case of world number one Novak Djokovic was the overflowing topic. So they sat there, all the different characters, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Garbiñe Muguruza, Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal or Alex de Minaur, patiently gave their answers – and above all they seemed annoyed. About the fact that everything has revolved around one person for a week and a half.
The Greek Tsitsipas chose the most direct shortcut to circumnavigate what she saw as a tiresome subject, who immediately said coolly: “I’m here to talk about tennis, not about Novak Djokovic. We can continue.” You already know what he thinks about the fourth in the world rankings. The day before he had announced that the behavior of the Serbian opponent made “the majority look like idiots”. The Spaniard Muguruza pointed out that she could only repeat what she said at the tournament in Sydney: “We all want us to move on” and “focus on the cool aspects that a slam starts”. Wiry Aussie de Minaur, a similar guy on the field to former world number one Lleyton Hewitt, who also sponsors him, lamented the whole situation had “taken a lot of the spotlight away from us competitors”.
At the airport and on the way home: Novak Djokovic in Melbourne.
(Photo: Loren Elliott/Reuters)
Nadal, who does not speak the world’s best English even after 20 Grand Slam titles, but still has the art of expressing criticism in such a way that nobody can accuse him of having attacked someone personally, was quite clear for his standards. “It is very clear that Novak Djokovic is one of the best players in history, without a doubt,” said the 35-year-old Mallorquin, who is himself vaccinated and recently recovered from a Covid infection: “But there is no player in history , which is bigger than a tournament because the players come and go and then other players come. Nobody, not Roger, me, Bjorn Borg, who was so wonderful back then. Tennis goes on.”
Alexander Zverev will now play against Daniel Altmaier in the Rod Laver Arena on Monday
Djokovic was also put under protection, with Germany’s Zverev, who now has even higher hopes of his first Grand Slam title, making differing statements. He would understand “the perspective of the Australians and the government”. Nevertheless, the latter should have made it clearer in advance. “I think it’s not very fair for a person to come here and not be able to play,” said Zverev, who obviously also wanted to express his loyalty to Djokovic, with whom he gets along very well. He himself is marginally affected by Djokovic’s resignation, now his first round match against German colleague Daniel Altmaier has been scheduled as the last “night session” this Monday in the Rod Laver Arena. They can probably be seen on German television around noon. Zverev’s ambitions are high: “When you talk about the possible winners, you have to talk about Medvedev, Tsitsipas. I’ve also played well in the past six months.”
But there were also players who fully supported Djokovic, and that doesn’t even mean the strange US professional Tennys Sandgren, who – also unvaccinated – did not travel to Melbourne and constantly railed against politics. Nick Kyrgios, recently tested positive for Corona, downright cursed his country’s government: “We are treating him at the moment as if he were a weapon of mass destruction,” said the 26-year-old from Canberra in a podcast. As it became known, Djokovic had even thanked Kyrgios for his support with a small post on social media. An amazing approach, in the past Kyrgios had not always talked well about Djokovic and made fun of him. In Serbia he should have scored with his attacks.
“The greatest disgrace in the history of sport happened in Melbourne!”
Unsurprisingly, the media in Djokovic’s homeland, above all the boulevard, chose rude words to echo their outrage. Significant was the comment of Kurir: “The greatest disgrace in the history of sport happened in Melbourne! Shame on you, Australia! (…) The law has lost, politics has triumphed.” The top state representatives escalated their displeasure even more heartily. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Djokovic had experienced “nothing but arbitrariness and harassment” since arriving in Australia, and he also spoke of a “witch hunt” and a “lynching mood” fueled by the media.
His conclusion: “Novak wanted to set an example of how the world order works.” He even said to the BBC that Djokovic was “treated like a mass murderer”. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, for her part, attacked the Australian government prosecutor, who had dropped the argument in the proceedings that less than 50 percent of the Serbian population had been double vaccinated – an “open lie”, Brnabic said angrily. Djokovic’s parents and brothers finally made a statement on Sunday that said, among other things: “What we all, and especially we as a family, have to do now is support him more than ever.” And further: “We will be there to process the blows that were inflicted on him.”
The processing of this case is likely to take a while. In any case, it can be assumed that not all camps affected or cheering (particularly on social media, the distribution was sometimes difficult below the belt) will try to draw a line as quickly as Tennis Australia. The association, organizer of the tournament, which had started everything by granting the exemption to Djokovic, said succinctly that they respect the decision of the federal court – and emphasized almost relieved: “We are looking forward to a competitive and exciting Australian Open 2022.” The bar for drama is set high after this week.