2022 In Between Grand Slam Thread

Djokovic has brought much of this on himself but I would agree Australian authority needs to make a decision. Lets be honest, if they were to thoroughly investigate every player, I have no doubt there are other secrets out there between invalid travel declaration forms, covid positive tests, travel within 14 days of getting to Australia etc.

This all comes down to one thing really, they should have just said fully vaccinated or no play. Had they done so none of this would ever have happened and there wouldnt be this huge mess.

They have a huge decision to make, either they presumably try to convince Djokovic to leave or they take the nuclear option and deport him. That is a complicated decision because if they choose that route, i think he is banned for at least 3 years and he will no doubt have played his last match at the Australian Open. I think they normally only reject a visa at this level in the event of someone being seen as a risk to Australia and its people. Is that the case here?

I think there's lasting damage to his reputation now, unfortunately for him. It was said a while back on the thread that he isn't an anti-vaxxer, maybe in his heart he isn't but we have to judge him on his actions in the absence of the ability to read his innermost thoughts.

He has by his actions been well and truly been duct-taped to a variety of groups now, from ultra-nationalists to anti-vaxxers to anti-maskers to libertarians to , god-help-us, Nigel Farage. There's no walking this back with an instagram story or two.

Tongue in cheek now, but you could represent him. You were asked one question, you quoted it, but you didn't answer it.

Djokovic will disappear from the headlines and political junkies will move on to something else.

Sports is a refuge from politics for a lot of people. They go to tennis, soccer and GAA to get away from the endless stream of controversies, accusations and bickering.

Q. Has he gone down in your estimation out of interest? 

A. Hasn't covered himself in glory obviously. As said getting a bit bored with the dragging out now. Australians should move it to the next stage by either going to deport him or not. Djokovic would then either go or get his lawyers to apply for an injunction. Shouldn't have done the interview even if was done with masks but there you go he has addressed it and said he did. Plenty were saying that he wouldn't address it and would delay and say nothing. Well he didn't fake his test despite the German paper putting out that rubbish that they had to backtrack on.

I don't see the answer in there.

Q. So what did Djokovic do to you exactly - didn't give you a tip or what?

A. He was at a "meet and greet" event in New York. He was rude and sped through without spending time with the fans (I readily admit, I was not one). I didn't get any warmth from him at all. This was a box-ticking exercise. I fully admit that I had zero idea of what he was coming from, what he was going to, or going through. Its just a personal feedback based on one short event (so not to be extrapolated, I get) He didn't give me a tip either.

I am in a situation currently hugely impacted by Covid, and can see the tragic outcomes to people healthier than me, and younger than me, losing their lives because of non-vaccination. The hospital beds that 12 months ago were full of the old and compromised are now filled with people who should not be there. Its a waste and its a pity, and its avoidable. So yes, I am biased on the overall topic.

I suppose there are (at least) two aspects to look at with this:

1 - there is no doubt that he is clearly preoccupied with his own legacy, not only the best tennis male tennis player ever, but in being accepted and loved by the 'public' while on that journey. He wants to be loved and therefor is after more than cold hard records. Everything he has done in the past month has worked against this. Of course it's not on the scale of say a drugs cheat, where his actual trophies are discredited. But the softer, nice to have stuff is being eroded, the stuff you need to have to be loved rather than grudgingly respected.

2- There is also my own personal perception of him, as someone who hugely admires his tennis, his self belief and tenacity, and who has given him the benefit of the doubt on everything else, as his more esoteric views on health related matters did not intersect with or impact on with my own. His covid carry on given me pause, and given my personal experience with covid, lock downs, self-isolation etc, I find his attempts to ignore and circumvent any impact that covid may have on his professional activities, extremely distasteful. It impacts me because it annoys the hell out of me.

I may still admire his tennis, I honestly won't know until i see him playing again, but something has been diminished. As someone once wrote:

' how can we know the dancer from the dance?'

Anyone still clinging to these wee errors and omissions wanting him kicked out is just pathetic.

He’ll be gone in two-three weeks, after infecting absolutely fooking nobody.