Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic was denied the opportunity to defend his Australian Open title in Melbourne earlier this year as he was deported from Australia owing to his Covid vaccination status. Subsequently, he was handed over a three year ban on his visa as well.
In response to the saga, Novak feels that his Covid vaccination status and the Australian Open saga related with it showed him the true colours of his rivals on the tour.
After the Australian Open incident, Novak was denied entry in the US as well for the North-American hard court swing as he missed the final Grand Slam due to the same reason. As one of the all time greats awaits his fate for the 2023 Australian Open owing to his visa ban, he said that a lot of masks came off during his ordeal in 2022.
“I know everything that has happened to me this year, especially with Australia and everything that came thereafter. I didn’t like the ordeal and had never experienced any kind of unsavory situation like that before. The incident taught me some important life lessons,” he told Sportal.
“It shows me what kind of world I live in, especially in this tennis ecosystem. A lot of masks fell off, so to speak, and it’s very interesting for me to see how someone treated me this year,” he added.
Novak went on to admit that he doesn’t want to criticise people who slammed him for his stance on Covid vaccination.
“I respect that everyone has a different way of thinking about my situation and the circumstances. Finally, I have never insulted anyone or ever tried to be disrespectful in any way. I’ve always tried to show that it’s important that everyone has the right and freedom of choice. For the decisions I made, I knew there would be certain consequences,” he signed off.