“It was a bit unfair to Novak Djokovic” Craig Tiley, Tournament Director of Australian Open defends Novak over keeping medical records confidential
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Craig Tiley and Novak Djokovic
The Novak Djokovic vaccination saga has been dragged on for a long time now and has seen involvement not only from the player and the tournament director, but also from Novak’s father and the Australian government over allowing only vaccinated players for the Grand Slam in Melbourne that begins in January.
Novak has maintained his stance of not revealing his vaccination status as his medical records are a private matter and this has led to an uproar from some sections while others have supported his decision. With the mixed reactions, the Australian government has agreed to form a special committee that will review the cases of players who refuse to get vaccinated.
With the Grand Slam set to be played in the state of Victoria, Martin Pakula, the Sports Minister of Victoria had justified how the special committee will work. “Everyone who participates must be vaccinated or have a valid reason not to be. It is not for me, nor for the Prime Minister or any other politician to determine whether or not he can play the tournament. This will be evaluated by a committee of experts,” said Pakula.
Amidst this, Craig Tiley, the tournament director of the Australian Open recently came forward and spoke about how this is unfair for the 9-time Australian Open champion Djokovic who is one of the most loved players at the Slam.
“In many ways, it was a bit unfair to Novak. He said his medical information was private and confidential. He’s won the Australian Open nine times, which is truly remarkable. Of his 20 Grand Slam titles, almost half have been won here. I spent a lot of time with him. I fully understand his point of view, his medical situation is personal and he has the right to keep it to himself. He will unveil shortly this position,” said Tiley in an interview with CODE.
Novak Djokovic expected to make the official announcement around Christmas
With the Australian government agreeing to form a committee to review special cases, many speculated it is done to protect Novak and allow him to play at the Slam exempting him from the general law to which Martin Pakula was clear that no such intention was behind the decision.
“If Djokovic chooses not to be vaccinated and is not accepted by the expert committee, he will not play the Australian Open. To enter the tournament, he must have a good excuse to explain the reason for his non-vaccination. If people think we did this to try and give Djokovic a chance to play in the tournament, they are wrong,” Pakula had added.
While all this continues to happen, Novak has maintained a silent stance and has not spoken anything about the matter and is expected to give his official statement around Christmas 2021 when the players are expected to travel to Australia in order to complete their respective quarantine before they are allowed to play.
Also Read: SHOCKING! Natalia Vikhlyantseva will SKIP the Australian Open 2022 Because of the Sputnik V Vaccine
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)