In McNamee’s view, “if Novak was going to be tossed out, the time to do it was prior to the draw.”
Grand Slam draws definitely have been modified prior to. Andy Murray, initially seeded 2nd at the 2017 U.S. Open, withdrew with a hip injury after the draw had actually been finished.
The Novak Djokovic Standoff With Australia Card 1 of 4
How it began. The standoff began when Djokovic got an exemption that would permit him to protect his Australian Open title. Upon arrival, federal officials stated he did not satisfy the requirements for entry since he was unvaccinated, and canceled his visa.But no one in 2017
was questioning Murray’s right to complete. Djokovic is in a more delicate position, in part due to the fact that a few of his peers reluctantly accepted be vaccinated, to respect the Australian Open required that no player would be allowed to complete without the shot or without clearing the high bar for a medical exemption.Marton Fucsovics, Hungary’s top men’s player, was the very first popular singles player to speak out, preserving that Djokovic must not remain in Melbourne and that “there are rules that were detailed months ago.” Stine, the coach, said some other players remained in contract. “For sure, he’s been playing by his own guidelines,”
said Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, the world’s fourth-ranked player. Tsitsipas described Djokovic’s strategy of staying with his anti-vaccination stance as” bold,”and added that it made most of gamers who have abided by the vaccine requirement”appear like fools.”Stine stated there was likewise issue that Tennis Australia and Craig Tiley, its chief executive, had actually gone too far in their support of Djokovic, despite the fact that his application for a vaccination
exemption was assessed by an independent medical board. “Clearly Tennis Australia and Craig Tiley, they desire Djokovic here contending, it’s good for their event,”Stine stated.”I believe Craig has headed out of his way to try and help Novak in every method he potentially
can to make sure he gets into the country, and in the end it then looks like he’s receiving unique treatment. And I don’t like that in our sport no matter what. No one ought to be receiving special treatment. That’s what sport is about.”The truth is that the tennis elite, like many other superstars in sports, do receive unique treatment: preferential scheduling, access to the primary courts and other creature comforts. Tiley, eager to bolster
the Australian Open, has spoken honestly about the requirement to keep the stars material. However he was not speaking freely on Thursday, decreasing a demand to answer concerns from the media after the men’s draw was complete.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/sports/tennis/djokovic-australian-open.html