{"id":1194250,"date":"2022-01-06T13:49:26","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T18:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1194250"},"modified":"2022-01-06T13:49:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T18:49:50","slug":"rafael-nadal-biggest-beneficiary-of-djokovic-australia-open-absence-demands-he-follow-the-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rafael-nadal-biggest-beneficiary-of-djokovic-australia-open-absence-demands-he-follow-the-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal, Biggest Beneficiary of Djokovic Australia Open Absence, Demands He &#039;Follow the Rules&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frafael-nadal-biggest-beneficiary-of-djokovic-australia-open-absence-demands-he-follow-the-rules%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1194250&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">Rafael Nadal, one of two men tied with Novak Djokovic for most Grand Slam titles in history, told reporters on Thursday that Djokovic\u2019s detention in a migrant center in Australia was the result of his decision to not receive a Chinese coronavirus vaccine and that \u201cthe world has suffered enough to not follow the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Djokovic flew to Melbourne on Wednesday after announcing through social media that he had received an unexplained exemption to participate in the Australian Open, one of the four most prestigious tournaments in professional tennis. The government of Australia has implemented a mandate that all foreigners enter the country be vaccinated against Chinese coronavirus unless they can prove, subject to a panel of medical experts, that they cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Among the reasons Australian media have reported can be used to receive an exemption are an allergic reaction to the first dose of a shot, documented allergies to vaccine ingredients, or testing positive for Chinese coronavirus within six months of travel.<\/p>\n<p>Djokovic \u2013 the reigning champion and winningest contender at the tournament with nine trophies to his name \u2013 had for months refused to reveal his vaccination status and had openly declared himself against vaccination in 2020, leaving many doubting if he would participate in the tournament. Upon arriving in Melbourne, following his announcement of receiving an exemption, authorities detained him and invalidated his visa. Reports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/lifestyle\/sports\/australian-hotel-where-novak-djokovic-is-being-kept-2022-01-06\/\">indicate<\/a> he is currently being held at a refugee facility <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2021\/oct\/26\/inside-melbournes-park-hotel-refugees-sit-and-wait-for-covid-to-find-them\">notorious<\/a> for inhumane conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Should the government of Australia deport Djokovic or otherwise prevent him from playing in the Australia Open, it would open the tournament up and give Nadal one of his best chances in recent memory to best the two players\u2019 mutual record of 20 Grand Slam trophies.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_19386426\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1347514438.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-19386426\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1347514438-683x1024-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Rafa Nadal attends the inauguration of the \u2018Enlighted Hybrid Edition\u2019 at the Telefonica Foundation on October 19, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. (Carlos Alvarez\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t like what is happening, of course,\u201d Nadal <a href=\"https:\/\/elpais.com\/deportes\/2022-01-06\/nadal-sobre-djokovic-el-mundo-ya-ha-sufrido-lo-suficiente-como-para-no-seguir-las-normas.html\">told<\/a> reporters when asked about Djokovic\u2019s situation, according to Spanish newspaper <em>El Pa\u00eds<\/em>. \u201cIn a way, I feel sorry for him. But at the same time, he knew perfectly the conditions for many months. He made his own decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you do that, if you get vaccinated, you can be here,\u201d Nadal continued. \u201cYou can play in the Australian Open and wherever. The world has suffered enough to not follow the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nadal emphasized that he was in no way advising Djokovic, instead stating that, for him, personally, the decision to get vaccinated was easy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe in what people who know about medicine say and, if they say we have to get vaccinated, well, we have to get vaccinated,\u201d Nadal offered. He added that he understood the outrage from pro-vaccine Australians.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have all been through really tough times; many families have suffered a lot in the last two years of the pandemic. It is normal that people here in Australia are very frustrated with this case because they have faced a few very tough quarantines and there were a lot of people who haven\u2019t been able to come home for a long time,\u201d Nadal opined.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here are Rafael Nadal\u2019s full answers on the Novak Djokovic situation, which Nadal clearly thinks Djokovic created for himself.<\/p>\n<p>Nadal has consistently backed the science of vaccines during the pandemic, so this is a pretty consistent line of answering for him. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/K6Rsh7OVrr\">pic.twitter.com\/K6Rsh7OVrr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BenRothenberg\/status\/1478981465467539456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Nadal\u2019s comment on the situation follows the publication of a column this week in&nbsp;<em>El Pa\u00eds<\/em> by his former longtime coach and uncle Toni Nadal urging Djokovic to clarify what exemption he had received; the column was published before border officials apprehended the tennis player in Melbourne.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Toni Nadal <a href=\"https:\/\/elpais.com\/deportes\/2022-01-04\/djokovic-y-australia-honestidad-sensibilidad-y-humanidad.html\">wrote<\/a> that he had expected Djokovic to \u201cdrop out of the tournament or get vaccinated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it would be good if the player himself gave some sort of explanation,\u201d the elder Nadal wrote. \u201cHe does not have the obligation to reveal intimate facts, but he should be aware that [the issue] is of international concern at a moment of extremely grave global sanitary crisis and of great sensibility given the enormous pain that [Chinese coronavirus] is causing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Australian authorities did not allow Djokovic the ability to explain himself prior to his detention.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is Djokovic at Melbourne Airport last night. I have spoken to the man who took this photo. He says Novak showed a bundle of papers to Border Force with Tennis Australia logos on it. It feels to me Djokovic legitimately felt like he had an exemption thanks to TA. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/2GB873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@2GB873<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uOtSYyBOR7\">pic.twitter.com\/uOtSYyBOR7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris O&#8217;Keefe (@cokeefe9) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cokeefe9\/status\/1478986899377168384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Djokovic\u2019s attorneys have appealed his deportation, which has resulted in authorities moving him into the Melbourne Park Hotel \u2013 a facility whose migrant inhabitants have long complained of deplorable conditions. The government will review his appeal on Monday, so it remains possible that the champion will play in Melbourne.<\/p>\n<p>Father Srdjan Djokovic and coach Goran Ivanisevic were also in Melbourne, though the elder Djokovic resurfaced in Belgrade on Thursday. Srdjan Djokovic has essentially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/sports\/2022\/01\/05\/we-will-fight-them-in-the-streets-djokovic-dad-says-australia-holding-son-captive-over-vaccines\/\">threatened<\/a> guerrilla warfare against Australia if they do not release his son.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">\u201cI have no clue what\u2019s going on. They\u2019ve kept my son in captivity for five hours now,\u201d Srdjan Djokovic told the Russian propaganda outlet Sputnik. \u201cIf they don\u2019t let him go in half an hour, we\u2019ll fight them in the streets, this is a battle for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">The comments were from Wednesday evening Eastern Time, and Srdjan has yet to take the streets at press time. Protesters have, however, surrounded the Park Hotel demanding the government respect Djokovic\u2019s civil rights.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Fans of tennis star Novak Djokovic gathered outside the hotel he was staying at to show their support after he was denied entry into Australia amid protests over a decision to grant him exemption from COVID-19 vaccination to play in the Australian Open <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VFcMG5prdk\">https:\/\/t.co\/VFcMG5prdk<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8p6WgiLW9g\">pic.twitter.com\/8p6WgiLW9g<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Reuters (@Reuters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Reuters\/status\/1479041301580447746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>President of Serbia&nbsp;Aleksandar Vucic issued a statement on Wednesday asserting that he had spoken to Novak Djokovic and \u201ctold our Novak that the whole of Serbia is with him and that our bodies are doing everything to see that the harassment of the world\u2019s best tennis player is brought to an end immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">\u201cSerbia will fight for Novak, truth and justice. Novak is strong, as we all know,\u201d Vucic said.<\/p>\n<p>Reports indicate that Djokovic had his application for a medical exemption <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/sports\/2022\/01\/04\/australia-caves-grants-tennis-champion-novak-djokovic-vaccine-mandate-exemption\/\">approved<\/a> through Tennis Australia, the organization that runs the Australian Open. The federal government, apparently under pressure from prominent pro-vaccine Australians, then overturned the decision. It is not clear when that happened or if Djokovic had any way of knowing it would before landing in Melbourne.<\/p>\n<p>Should the situation result in a Djokovic absence at the tournament, few have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/news\/how-djokovic-absence-could-impact-australian-open\/\">more to gain<\/a> from the situation than Nadal. Nadal and Djokovic, a year apart in age, have currently one of the longest-running rivalries in the sport. Djokovic\u2019s nine Australian Open wins were largely the reason Nadal has yet to surpass him or the third man with 20 Grand Slam victories, Roger Federer, in the total count. Federer will not play the Australian Open.<\/p>\n<p>Nadal and Djokovic played the longest Grand Slam final in history at the Australian Open in 2012. They also <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2010\/SPORT\/tennis\/08\/10\/tennis.nadal.djokovic.doubles\/index.html\">attempted<\/a> to play men\u2019s doubles in 2010, but their vastly different styles did not yield positive results when combined.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19386450\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1237566236.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-19386450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1237566236-1024x683-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"990\" height=\"660\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>A photograph taken on January 6, 2022 shows a billboard depicting Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic displayed on the facade of a building, above his restaurant, in Belgrade. (ANDREJ ISAKOVIC\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s definitely my greatest rival. Playing him in so many great matches, the past will have some effect in terms of respect towards each other and motivation to get out there and play your best,\u201d Djokovic said of Nadal last year. \u201cI\u2019ve played him more than any other player in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rumors have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/tennis\/988798\/Rafael-Nadal-Novak-Djokovic-Wimbledon-hate-each-other\">circulated<\/a> for years of personal tensions between the two \u2013 mostly thanks to uncle Toni \u2013 but have not resulted in any significant public discord \u2013 excepting, of course, Nadal\u2019s comments this week.<\/p>\n<p>While Nadal has not address the positive effect on his chances to win that Djokovic\u2019s absence in the tournament would have, other players have been frank about the situation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">\u201cYeah, if he won\u2019t be there, that\u2019s minus one guy who has 20 slams, and that\u2019s a lot,\u201d Russian champion Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Djokovic at the 2021 U.S. Open, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theaustralian.com.au\/news\/latest-news\/atp-cup-daniil-medvedevs-australian-open-preparation-back-on-track-with-gutsy-win-over-world-no-7-matteo-berrettini\/news-story\/23dee17b6885b1214d79fbace696353c\">told<\/a> reporters this week.&nbsp;\u201cWhen somebody straight wins it nine times and he\u2019s not there, the draw opens up a little bit. That\u2019s no secret.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Medvedev remarked regarding the vaccine situation that it was not clear to him from public knowledge that Djokovic had not abided by the rules of applying for an exemption.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">\u201cFor me \u2026 if he had a fair exemption from the rule, well he should be here. If he didn\u2019t, he shouldn\u2019t be here. It sounds easy, but it seems very tough in real life,\u201d Medvedev said.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Frances Martel on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1641384383116000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3plgjV19R-RDoJd0M_IYOp\">Facebook<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1641384383116000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2eMohb3jMGaEXCtnfYArj7\">Twitter.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rafael Nadal, one of two men tied with Novak Djokovic for most Grand Slam titles in history, told reporters on Thursday that Djokovic\u2019s detention in a migrant center in Australia &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1194250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1194250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1194250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1194250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1194250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}