‘The points he wrote down were absolutely right and legitimate’, Boris Becker defends Novak Djokovic for his letter to Craig Tiley


‘The points he wrote down were absolutely right and legitimate’, Boris Becker defends Novak Djokovic for his letter to Craig Tiley
Novak Djokovic

Controversy has again circled World No.1 Novak Djokovic. The Serb was at the receiving end of a lot of negative attention and flak after he sent a letter to AO CEO Craig Tiley. The letter entailed a list of proposals aimed at easing the restriction imposed on players quarantining in Melbourne. These players, 72 to be precise, are currently under 24/7 lockdown in their hotel rooms and have no access to practice courts.

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Many including Nick Kyrgios, Todd Woodridge and others have criticized Djokovic for writing such a letter. However, former World No.1 Boris Becker came out in support of Novak Djokovic for his letter. The German is of the opinion that Djokovic was completely in the right when he sent the letter. Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic have worked together in the past. Becker was Djokovic’s coach from 2014 to 2016.

He wanted to stand up for the players: Boris Becker on Novak Djokovic

Boris Becker

Becker recently appeared for an interview with Eurosport, where he expressed his support for Novak Djokovic in the controversy surrounding the letter he sent. Becker started by saying, “The points he wrote down were absolutely right and legitimate. You get the feeling Novak Djokovic can do whatever he wants at the moment, he just gets a lot of criticism.”

The German then stats that Novak Djokovic should not be criticized for sending the letter. “In this case, really unjustified. He wanted to stand up for the players, just wanted to create fair conditions for everyone, but was sharply criticized, even by the prime minister of the country,” Becker stats.

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Becker then called upon Australian governmental authority to be fair to the players who are locked out in Melbourne. “I think it’s important for Australia and especially Melbourne that the players come to Melbourne. It’s good for the city and for the economy. The country and the city benefit and then you have to treat the players more fairly and respectfully,” Becker said.

When they come out of quarantine, they haven’t even been out in the fresh air, haven’t played tennis: Becker on players quarantined in Melbourne

Australian Open

Former World No.1 then goes on to air concerns about players when they come out of quarantine and directly play the main event. “There are 70 players affected, out of a field of 128 players. A third is certainly in adverse conditions in Australia. When they come out of quarantine, they haven’t even been out in the fresh air, haven’t played tennis. No matter how many steps they’ve taken in the room, they haven’t played ball, and then they have a week to prepare for best-of-five matches, at least for the men, in the hot conditions,” Becker acknowledges.

Boris concluded by asking question to the organizers.

“That task doesn’t really work. All the winter preparation was for naught. You have to ask yourself whether these are fair conditions for everyone. As an organizer, you have to ask yourself: is this right, is this reasonable?” Becker concluded.

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Also Read: Paula Badosa Gibert becomes the first player to test positive for Coronavirus at Australian Open 2021