‘It makes the majority look like they are all fools!’ Stefanos Tsitsipas SLAMS Novak Djokovic, says not many players would put a ‘Grand Slam at risk’
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Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic
Eyes all around the world are currently on Novak Djokovic. The Serbian superstar is currently in a virtual battle with the Australian government over his participation at the Australian Open. Tennis Australia had a few months ago announced that only vaccinated players will be allowed to compete in the 2022 Australian Open.
Djokovic is still unvaccinated and hence received a medical exemption to play in Melbourne. Things got chaotic as soon as he landed in Melbourne and was detained on arrival. His visa was cancelled but he challenged the same in federal court and eventually won the case on Monday, getting his visa instated in the process.
The world is divided on Djokovic’s situation and so is the tennis community. While many believe that Djokovic was wronged, some players are adamant that Djokovic is not doing any good by competing at the Australian Open. World No.4 and title contender Stefanos Tsitispas too believes that Djokovic is playing by his own rules and is altering with the law of land.
“He has been playing by his own rules,” Tsitsipas told Indian outlet WION. “No-one would have thought: ‘I can come to Australia unvaccinated and not have to follow the protocols they gave me’. For Novak it worked another way. It takes a lot of daring to do. Putting a Grand Slam at risk – I don’t think many players would do that,” Tsitsipas said in the interview.
‘A very small minority chose to follow their own rules’: Tsitsipas takes a dig at Djokovic
Tsitsipas further added that just to abide by the rules, many players got vaccinated before coming to Australia. He said that players have showed immense discipline in following the rules but also said that not everyone is playing by the rules- referring to Djokovic.
“There are two ways to look at it – one way is that almost every single player has been vaccinated and did what they had to do in order to come and play in Australia. “We have all followed the protocols to come and compete in Australia and been very disciplined in that,” he said.
“It seems like not everyone is playing by the rules of how Tennis Australia and some governments have been putting things. A very small minority chose to follow their own way. It makes the majority look like they are all fools,” he added.
On court, Tsitsipas will open his campaign against Swedish Mikael Ymer and could go on to face Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. He is in the bottom half of the draw and could possibly face Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal.
Also read: List of broadcasters for the Australian Open 2022
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)