The tennis star's outspoken opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine struck a wrong note in a city where 92% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.
to play the first Grand Slam of the year with a COVID-19 vaccine exemption, his timing hardly could have been worse.
Djokovic’s refusal to discuss his vaccine status or explain why his health-based exemption had been granted didn’t sit well in Open host Melbourne, where 92% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated and where cases are rising. On social media, many shared that sentiment, with one poster complaining that during the lockdowns he could not fly to Australia from Britain to attend family funerals, and so the tennis star should not be allowed in.“The guy played by the rules, he got his visa, he arrives, he’s a nine-time champion and whether people like it or not he’s entitled to fair play,” Former Australian Open tournament director and Davis Cup player Paul McNamee told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“We have no choice but to ride the wave ,” he said. “What’s the alternative? What we must do is press on.” “You, famous Prime Minister of the faraway naturally beautiful country, are behaving according to your own principles, which have nothing to do with us and our principles,” Djokovic’s father Srdan told reporters. “We are humans, and you, sir, are not.”
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