“What they are doing with Djokovic is a scandal”
Former tennis player Viktor Troicki, Serbian captain
of the Davis Cup, declared on Wednesday that the “mistreatment” that Novak Djokovic undergoes in his attempts to enter Australia to play the Grand Slam is “a great scandal” that has nothing to do with sport.
“I do not remember that something like this happened to a world champion not only in tennis, to one of the greatest athletes of all time. I do not remember that an athlete was so mistreated by a government,” Troicki told Serbian public television RTS .
Troicki assured that “it is absurd” that as soon as Djokovic has left for Australia there are comments from the Australian authorities about his visa, “as if they were trying to cause him a problem and not let him in.”
“They are political games, it has nothing to do with sport, it is mistreatment and a very big scandal,” said Troicki, assuring that several other players with the same medical exemption and visa have entered
in Australia.
Troicki recalled that Djokovic has won nine Australian Open titles and that he had a great desire to play the tournament – which takes place from January 17 to 30 – and to defend the title, with which, if he succeeded, he would also break the current record of 20 Grand Slam conquered.
“Everything is very strange, it is an unpleasant surprise,” said the former player who asked the Australian Open organizer to protect the participating athletes.
According to Troicki, Djokovic always comes out even stronger from difficult situations and that if he overcomes this problem it would be “an additional reason to win the tournament”.
Serbian Sports Minister Vanja Udovicic also declared on Twitter that the denial of Djokovic’s visa “is absurd and a shame.”
“I am shocked by what is happening to Djokovic and I cannot imagine that anyone would take the right to harass the best athlete in the world in such a way,” said Udovicic.
The Australian authorities last night revoked the visa of the world number one who arrived in the city of Melbourne with a medical exemption that allowed him to participate in the Australian Open without being vaccinated.
The tennis player’s lawyers appealed the revocation and an Australian court will consider the appeal on Monday.
The Serb will await the decision on the appeal at Melbourne’s Park Hotel, which also houses a group of asylum seekers who have been detained by immigration authorities, after he was interviewed for more than eight hours by border authorities for Failure to comply with the requirements imposed by the covid-19.
EFE