Novak Djokovic Made His Decision, But There Are Consequences: Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal

Image: Rafael Nadal/Twitter 

Former World Number 1 Rafael Nadal said he somewhat felt sorry for Novak Djokovic but also believes that the rules were explained in advance and that the Serb made his own choice, which has its consequences.

Djokovic faces deportation from Australia and his legal case against it was to be heard by the court on Thursday. The defending champion was given a medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccine to play in the Australian Open but his visa was rejected on his arrival in Melbourne.

According to the rules, all participants at the Australian Open must be vaccinated against Covid-19 or have a medical exemption, which can be granted only after assessment by two independent panels of experts.

The Australian Border Force did not accept the exemption and said that the world number 1 has failed to meet entry requirements. Djokovic was at the airport overnight and eventually moved to an undisclosed government facility pending deportation.

When asked if Nadal feels sorry for Djokovic, the Spaniard, who recently recovered from COVID-19, said the champion player knew the conditions and made his decision.

“Of course I don’t like the situation that is happening. But at the same time, he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he made his own decision," Nadal told the media.

“I think if he wanted, he would be playing here in Australia without a problem. He went through another - he made his own decisions, and everybody is free to take their own decisions, but then there are some consequences."

The Spaniard explained that the reactions to Djokovic was understandable, especially since the rules were clear.

“Seems some rough situation. But at the end of the day the only thing that I can say is we have been going through very challenging times and a lot of families have been suffering a lot during the last two years with all the pandemic.

“I mean, 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.

“From my point of view, that’s the only thing I can say is I believe 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."

When asked if he would encourage Djokovic to get vaccinated, he said he everyone would do whatever he or she feels is good for them. “But there are rules, and if you don’t want to get the vaccine, then you can have some troubles. That’s the thing.

“Of course after a lot of people had been dying for two years, my feeling is the vaccine is the only way to stop this pandemic. That’s what the people who understand about this say, and I am no one to create a different opinion."

(With AFP Inputs)