Novak Djokovic says 'looks from colleagues' at Australian Open 'hurt a lot' amid vaccination saga
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Published 16/02/2022 at 09:21 GMT
Novak Djokovic spent a night being questioned by Australian Border Force when he arrived in Melbourne last month before being taken to a quarantine hotel. He was then allowed to train ahead of the Australian Open before he was eventually deported. The world No 1 says his colleagues had a 'perception' of him based on what they had read in the media.
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Novak Djokovic says the “looks” he got from his fellow tennis professionals at the Australian Open as he battled deportation from the country “hurt a lot”.
Djokovic was initially refused entry into Australia earlier this year as border officials questioned the reasons for the medical exemption which was meant to allow him to compete at the tournament despite being unvaccinated.
However, after being placed in a quarantine hotel, the decision to cancel his visa was quashed by a judge and he was allowed to train and prepare for the Australian Open.
He then had his visa cancelled a second time over fears that his presence would stoke anti-vaccination sentiment in the country, and was deported on the eve of the Grand Slam.
“I was free for four days, and I was training, but it was not a regular kind of training days I would normally have prior to Grand Slam competitions,” Djokovic told the BBC.
“I had helicopters flying above every single training session that I had on Rod Laver Arena, cameras all over the place.
"Also, my colleagues, that really hurt me a lot. I felt that energy and those looks from my colleagues and people that were in the tennis facility, and obviously, I understand that they had a perception that was based on what they were seeing from media reports.
“[But] I wasn’t able and wasn’t going out to the media because of what I had previously said about respecting the legal process and respecting the Australian Open.
“But at that time, I really wanted to speak to everyone and give my explanation."
When he arrived in the country, Djokovic spent his first night at Melbourne airport being questioned by Australian Border Force.
He was then taken to a quarantine hotel where some asylum seekers have been held for over a year.
“It definitely wasn’t pleasant, but I don’t want to sit here and complain about conditions in that detention centre because I stayed seven days,” he said.
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Supporters gather outside Park Hotel where Novak Djokovic was taken pending his removal from the country after his visa was cancelled by the Australian Border Force in Melbourne
Image credit: Getty Images
“I did feel powerless. When I arrived there, I wasn’t allowed to use my phone for three, four hours. It was the middle of the night, from 1am to 9am.
“I didn’t get any sleep because I was going through questioning every 30 minutes, basically. I had many, many interviews that were started and then stopped, then paused and then I waited for the person to speak to his superiors, then he would come back.
“It went on for the entire night. The visa was reinstated, first revoked, then reinstated, then revoked again.”
Corretja: We need to respect Djokovic
The two-time French Open finalist told Eurosport: “He's been giving us so much in tennis.
"You might not like his behaviour sometimes on the court, you can be against that or in favour of his character or whatever. But we can't forget that he's someone very special for our sport.
"So just to go out there and criticise him so much, and just try to be hard on him just because he decided that he wants to have the right to choose not to get vaccinated – I think it was too much. And I think we need to show respect.
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"If you want to get vaccinated, it's fine. If not, I think you need to respect even if some people might feel like they shouldn't be forced to do that.
"He's got his own personality and his own ideas. And definitely some people will say he's got the right to say that [he is unvaccinated] while some others will say if he gets vaccinated, then that would be a role model saying that.
"But in a way, I don't think he needs to think about other people, he needs to think about what he feels. And that's why I think that's the most important thing."
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