Novak Djokovic's vaccination controversy has left the Tennis world divided, while his long-time rival Rafael Nadal blasted him, Matteo Berrettini, and Daniil Medvedev had sympathy for him.
Djoko and the Spaniard are both tied at 20-Grand Slam each and the former's chance to fight for his 21st is bleak after the Australian government cancelled his visa and is preparing to deport him at the soonest.
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Stressing upon the fact that the 9-time Australian Open winner knew the rules, Nadal said 'If he wanted, he would be playing here in Australia without a problem, of course, I don't like the situation that is happening. In some way, I feel sorry for him. But at the same time, he knew the conditions a lot of months ago, so he makes his own decision'.
In contrast to Nadal, who was short on sympathy, Berrettini said, 'I have sympathy for Novak, nobody wants to be in that situation. I think it's not nice to be, I don't know how many hours he was there, but at the same time I can understand why Australian people feel that way, I think Melbourne had the longest lockdown in the world so, I can understand these people'.
Meanwhile, the hue and cry about Djoko's treatment meted out by the Australian government increased manifolds. While fans continued their protest in Melbourne, Srdan Djokovic and Dijana Djokovic outright blamed the govt for treating their son like a prisoner.
Since yesterday, the last 24 hours, they are keeping him as a prisoner, it's just not fair, it's not human, said his mother.
His father blamed the government of holding Serbia's pride in captivity. 'Novak is Serbia and Serbia is Novak. By humiliating Novak, they are humiliating Serbia and Serb people', he said.