Australian Open: Novak Djokovic’s treatment ‘really bad’ says Nick Kyrgios – ‘he is human’
- Australian tennis star Kyrgios urges authorities, fans and media to ‘do better’ as world No 1’s deportation case rumbles on
- ‘These memes, headlines … this is one of our great champions,’ Kyrgios posts on social media
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has urged authorities, fans and media to “do better” in their treatment of Novak Djokovic as the world No 1’s deportation case rumbles on.
The 20-time grand slam champion is being held in Melbourne’s Park Hotel detention centre for refugees after being refused entry to the country, where he was set to defend his title at the Australian Open, which starts on January 17.
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Tennis star Djokovic denied entry to Melbourne ahead of Australian Open over vaccine exemption error
“Look. I definitely believe in taking action,” Kyrgios wrote in a tweet on Friday.
“I got vaccinated because of others and for my mum’s health, but how we are handling Novak’s situation is bad, really bad.
“Like these memes, headlines, this is one of our great champions but at the end of the day, he is human. Do better.”
Djokovic a ‘prisoner’ at detention hotel where food is ‘disgusting’: parents
That caused a backlash among locals, who have battled through tough restrictions for most of the last two years, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisting Djokovic “won’t be treated different than anyone else”.
Djokovic’s great rival Rafael Nadal, who also has 20 grand slam titles to his name, expressed some sympathy for Djokovic’s plight but insisted “the world has been suffering enough not to follow the rules”.
“We have been going through very challenging [times] and a lot of families have been suffering a lot during the last two years with the pandemic,” Nadal told media in Melbourne this week.
“It’s normal the people here in Australia get 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.
“The only thing I can say is I believe in what the people who know about medicine says, and if the people say we need to get vaccinated, we need to get the vaccine.
“I went through Covid, I have been vaccinated twice. If you do this, you don’t have any problem to play here. That’s the only clear thing.”
The 34-year-old Serbian Djokovic was held at Melbourne airport on Wednesday night after the Australian border force discovered a visa issue with a member of his team.
He was questioned overnight for hours over his medical exemption by Victoria state officials in a room guarded by police at the airport.
The nine-time Australian Open champion is awaiting a Federal Court hearing on Monday after his lawyers appealed to government’s decision to deport him.
“I think if he wanted, he would be playing here in Australia with a problem,” Nadal added. “He went through another – he made his own decisions, and everybody is free to make their own decisions, but then there are some consequences.
“Of course I don’t like the situation that is happening. In some way I feel sorry for him. But at the same time he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he made his own decision.”
