Controversy Is The Name Of The Game
Everyone was hoping that by 2022, the tennis world would be back to normal. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. To further complicate the issue, the first major of the season is now embroiled in a bitter battle with the top seed.
Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open Dilemma
Novak Djokovic has one objective, win the Australian Open. He is in a three-way tie for most majors won with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. However, there may be a little problem of a visa. His visa has been revoked twice. The Serb wants sole position on the leader board. However, Australia has had very stringent rules about entry during the pandemic. The Australian Open decided to enforce the vaccine rule late last season for the 2022 event. Any player desiring to compete this year must be vaccinated. There is one loophole though, which is a medical exemption.
Embed from Getty ImagesDjokovic Has A Medical Exemption
The problem with making rules is that when you bend them or allow ways to circumvent them, this leads to controversy. Nevertheless, since they provided the loophole, it is unfair to tell him now that he cannot play. While many may want to blame Djokovic, in fairness he did nothing wrong. At least on the surface, since we have to take everything as truth, until proven otherwise. They approved his exemption and told him he could play. Of course, one can only image that after so many people are forced to follow the strict rules, many want to know why Djokovic does not.
Medical Exemption No Longer Valid
As a physician, we were taught that our immune system is our best defense. In cases of certain diseases, you build up your resistance by exposure to the insulting organism. Djokovic claims he was infected with a strain of coronavirus. Theoretically, he mounted a healthy immune response, and has enough antibodies to fight off future attack from that variant. Yet, that does not prevent him from getting re-infected with a different variant of the virus. While he may not be symptomatic, there is a potential risk of infecting others.
Embed from Getty ImagesHow Does All This Impact Tennis Morale?
I can only imagine that there will be three groups of sentiments. One group does not really care one way or the other. Then there is the group that will band against him playing. Finally, there is the group that will be rooting that he gets to play. Whether you are a fan of Djokovic or not, that is not the issue. What is at stake here is that they allowed for the exemption and now it seems that they have changed their minds. It is safe to say there will be some resentment amongst the players. One can only hope they can put things behind them, no matter the outcome, and play quality tennis.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
Needless to say…..I belong to the group that is against him!! Rules are rules and it’s not fair to all the other players who did what they were asked to do. As to his medical exemption…..how convenient that he recently had Covid. I’ve not forgotten that he and his family had Covid at the height of the pandemic….not to say he couldn’t have it again…..but how convenient for him! I am so very happy that it’s finally over….HE’S GONE! along with all his drama and the legitimate players can get about the business of playing tennis.
The pandemic has impacted everything. It’s prevented a lot of players from competing, so some of the intensity is definitely missing. Yet, life is more than tennis. On the other hand, I hope they can put this controversy into perspective and leave it behind. Let’s focus on the fact that some quality tennis will hopefully be played by the remaining players.