Mats Wilander, champion of seven ‘Grand Slam’ titles and Eurosport tennis expert for the Australian Open, speaks for MARCA. The channel will give the first ‘Grand Slam’ of the season live and exclusively.
- What is your opinion of everything that is happening with Novak Djokovic in Australia?
- It is clear that he has had bad luck to live what he is living. I think we need to know more, starting with what medical exemption he has claimed in order to enter the country and play. I am sure that he traveled with the assurance that he had the papers in order. I do not know at what point things were done wrong, if something was promised that later has not been fulfilled. As time goes by, we will really know what happened. Unfortunately, everything is a consequence of the pandemic and the rules are changing every day to try to protect us from Covid.
- Can we speak of a culprit, Djokovic for not getting vaccinated or Tennis Australia for assuring him that everything was fine?
- We have to remember that there are people who cannot be vaccinated due to health problems. I don’t know if Novak belongs to this group. I don’t think it’s correct to say that your mistake is not getting the vaccine. It is true that the rules say that you have to be vaccinated, but if you can prove medically that you cannot administer it, you should be able to play. Anyone catching a flight hopes to cross the border. When you go to the United States as a European, no matter how much you have a visa, you hope that they will let you pass. You never know for sure because in the end the last decision is made by the policeman who looks at your passport. Obviously, someone told Djokovic that he could travel and that he had the right papers. He took a plane and tried to pass. It’s all very confusing.
- Is the way a number one is being treated by the Aussie government fair?
- You are being treated as one more person. When they don’t let you enter a country they always isolate you in a room or a hotel and you have all the freedom to catch a plane back whenever you want. I do not believe that he is treated better or worse than any other citizen. What happens is that when you treat the number one in the tennis world as a normal person, it is something that has not been given for a long time.
Djokovic is being treated like another person, what happens is that he is number one in tennis
- Do you think you have any chance of winning your deportation appeal this Monday?
- I think it has a chance, but just as I think the Australian Government will not want to look like a fool in the eyes of the people. There are soon elections in Australia and it could also be a political issue. Politicians have to appear strong and that is what the prime minister did when he said that no one was going to enter Australia who was not vaccinated. His chances are slim because no one wants to look like an idiot after saying he was not going to get in anyway. I honestly hope he wins because what I want is to see him play.
- Do you understand Novak’s position of castling and staying in Melbourne until the last consequences?
- I love that Djokovic made this decision. It is everything to me. It is the way to win over fans around the world, to prove how much you want to play the Australian Open, how much you love Australia and the tournament, how much you want to make history. And his way of doing it is by staying in that hotel for as long as it takes. The easiest thing for him would have been to give up, to say, ‘I’m going home, this is too much.’ I sure would have had their support. But he, above all, wants to play. You have done the right thing by staying.
- Can what is happening in Australia change the history of tennis due to sporting consequences?
- The truth is that I had high expectations for the tournament with Rafa back and Djokovic in good shape. I thought that 2022 would once again be an exciting year with the return of Federer, although obviously in his case it is difficult for him to win a ‘Grand Slam’ again. The question is who will be the first between Nadal and Djokovic to add the ‘Grand Slam’ number 21. Suddenly this has happened with Novak. It’s disappointing. To win nine times in Australia you have to have had a great preseason and that is what Djokovic has shown for so long. It doesn’t matter what they do to you.
- Djokovic will have to be vaccinated to enter the United Kingdom and the same will happen to him in the United States. Could you consider withdrawal?
- It gives me a bad body just to think that Djokovic could consider retirement because of this. He is a person who thinks about it and analyzes everything very well. Take great care of your body and mind to the fullest. I have a feeling that if they told you the vaccine is 100 percent safe, you would take it. Maybe you can’t get vaccinated because of a medical problem, we don’t know. I cannot imagine that he retired because he cannot play the greats because he is not vaccinated.
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