Rafael Nadal has hit out at Novak Djokovic for not getting the Covid-19 vaccine amid his situation in Australia.
Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open in the last three years, had initially been given a medical exemption to compete in the tournament to defend his title.
That's despite not being vaccinated against Covid-19. The decision to allow the Serbian to enter Melbourne angered locals because of the country's strict guidelines.
However, the 34-year-old was refused entry due to an issue with the application for a sub-visa to get into Australia.
Border force have kept him near Melbourne Airport since last night, with the tennis legend's father slamming the intense questioning.
Well, it appears Nadal sides with the Australian authorities after he slammed the No.1 ranked player for refusing the jab.
Speaking after beating Ricardas Berankis in a warm-up match, the Spaniard believes his rival only has himself to blame for his Australia Open row.
"It seems a rough situation," said the 35-year-old.
"At the end of the day the only thing that I can say is we have been going through very challenging times and a lot of families have been suffering a lot during the last two years with the pandemic.
"I mean, it’s normal that the people here in Australia get very frustrated with the case because they have been going through a lot of very hard lockdowns and a lot of people were not able to come back home.
"From my point of view, that’s the only thing that I can say is I believe in what the people who knows about medicine says, and if the people says that we need to get vaccinated, we need to get the vaccine.
"I went through Covid. I have been vaccinated twice. If you do this you don’t have any problem to play here. That’s the only clear thing.
"The only clear thing is if you are vaccinated, you can play in the Australian Open and everywhere, and the world in my opinion has been suffering enough to not follow the rules."
Nadal, though, has some sympathy for Djokovic - but insists he knew the conditions months ago.
He added: "I think if he wanted, he would be playing here in Australia without a problem.
"He went through another - he made his own decisions and everybody is free to take their own decisions, but then there are some consequences.
"Of course, I don’t like the situation that is happening.
"In some way I feel sorry for him but at the same time he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he has made his own decision."
Topics: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Tennis
Nasir Jabbar