Novak Djokovic, the Master on the Court, always makes mistakes

In April 2020, when professional tennis was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, Novak Djokovic joined a Facebook Live chat with several Serbian athletes. During their conversation, Djokovic, known for his punitive training regimen, rich diet, and love of New Age beliefs, speak he is “opposed to vaccination” and “doesn’t want to be forced by someone to take the vaccine in order to be able to travel.”

“But if it becomes mandatory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision,” he said.

More than a year and a half later, Djokovic’s decision to apply for a medical exemption from the Australian Open’s vaccine requirement has become a setback for tennis – and one of the strangest yet to come. caused by the pandemic. Djokovic, 34, has done irreparable damage to his own image. It’s a bittersweet juncture for a tennis player who has long yearned to see his main rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and it’s a sad one for the era considered the greatest. in the history of men’s tennis.

Djokovic arrives in Australia with the goal of winning a record 21st Grand Slam singles title, giving him a one-place lead over Federer and Nadal and cementing his claim as the most successful male tennis player of all time. Instead, he now finds himself at the center of a global controversy surrounding some of the most divisive issues raised by the pandemic, particularly the issue of individual freedom versus collective responsibility. body.

Djokovic’s refusal to surrender to an Australian government that sought to ban him “in the public interest” because he was unvaccinated has made him a martyr in the eyes of some winged populists. proponents and opponents of vaccines, and provoked widespread outrage in Serbia.

While Djokovic was quarantined in a Melbourne hotel room awaiting trial on his entry, Nigel Farage, the British far-right politician and media personality who led the Brexit campaign, was in Belgrade, Serbia, expressed solidarity with the tennis star’s family. . Djokovic’s father compared his son to Jesus and Spartacus, and praised him as “the leader of the free world”. In Melbourne, a rabid crowd of Djokovic supporters chanted “Novak” and clashed with police.

All of this is a strange change for an athlete often accused of trying too hard to win the hearts of the world and who demands immense respect in his sport. , not just because he has won so many victories. He is a popular figure in the dressing room, where he is seen as a strong advocate for players struggling financially: In 2020, he co-founded a players association with the stated goal of making tennis more profitable for those in the lower ranks it’s not clear what that group accomplished are from. Djokovic has also shown himself with his benevolence and with the kindness he has shown to Federer and Nadal. (“He was a great champion,” Djokovic said of Federer later beat him at Wimbledon in 2014.)

As a person, he is welcoming and engaging, with a keen interest in life beyond boundaries and a palpable sense of gratitude for his good fortune. Djokovic grew up during the Balkan wars of the 1990s – he was in Belgrade when NATO forces bombed Serbia and spent many nights huddled in the basement of his grandfather’s apartment building.

Djokovic has said that the experience has made him the champion he has become. But perhaps it also engendered a sense of inadequacy that now led him astray.

The defeat in Australia also shed some light on some of the more troubling aspects of Djokovic’s personality in public. He has long been a talkative psychic, with a soft spot for what some consider a quack. A few years ago, when Djokovic was mired in decline, it was feared that he had fallen into the woes of a Spanish tennis coach named Pepe Imaz, whose training philosophy, known as Amor y Paz, or Love and Peace, emphasizes meditation and collective hugs. (“Humans have limitless abilities and skills, the problem is our minds limit us,” says Imaz on his website. a video on YouTube, Djokovic was shown on stage with Imaz talking about “need to be able to introspect and to establish this connection with divine light. “

When the tennis tournament was on hiatus in the spring of 2020, Djokovic did a number of Instagram chats with wellness expert Chervin Jafarieh. During one of their conversations, Djokovic asserted that the mind can purify water.

“I know some people that, through the energy of transformation, through the power of prayer, through the power of gratitude, have turned the most toxic food, or possibly the most polluted water. , becomes the best healing water, because water is reactive,” he said. “Scientists have demonstrated experimentally that molecules in water respond to our emotions to what is said.” (The people of Flint, Michigan, would love to hear that,” tennis commentator Mary Carillo replied.)

It was around this time that Djokovic revealed on Facebook Live his opposition to vaccines and vaccine mandates. A few months later, he organized an exhibition tour in the Balkans that has become a bigger event. Djokovic and his wife were among those who tested positive for coronavirus. In the press and in tennis, Djokovic has been criticized for staging matches – attended by fans – during a public health crisis. But that pales in comparison to the confrontation he has to face this month, especially in Australia, where the public is cursing under Covid restrictions, and the showdown with Djokovic is underway. the context of the upcoming national elections.

However, back in Serbia, Djokovic is seen as a victim becoming a victim because he is Serbian. “They’re stepping on Novak and trampling all over Serbia and the Serbs,” Djokovic’s father, Srdjan, told reporters. The Serbian foreign ministry released a statement saying that the Serbian public was “under the strong impression” that Djokovic had “been lured to Australia to be humiliated” and that they felt “understandable outrage”.

Djokovic’s hit comes at a time of rising Serb nationalism in Bosnia, and it has also revived interest in Djokovic’s political views. During a visit to Bosnia last September, he take a photo with the former commander of a paramilitary group involved in 1995 Srebrenica Massacre. He was also videotaped singing at a wedding with Milorad Dodik, a hardline Serbian nationalist whose secessionist rhetoric is raised fears that Bosnia could fall into conflict again.

Over the years, Djokovic has made comments suggesting that he at least sympathizes with Serbian nationalism. In a speech in 2008, he said that Kosovo belonged to Serbia after it declared independence. On the other hand, he was coached by Croat, former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, and seen by many in the Balkans as a figure of peace. People around him think that Djokovic is not as famous as Federer and Nadal partly because he comes from a small country and has a bad reputation. But that is not necessarily an expression of Serbian nationalism, and there may be some truth to it.

Bosnian-American writer Aleksandar Hemon, who teaches at Princeton (and co-wrote the screenplay for “The Matrix Resurrections”), thinks what Djokovic really thinks is near the bottom line: Success conquers the world. His worldview has made him a mythical figure in Serbian culture, the embodiment of Serbian greatness who dealt a fatal blow to his country’s enemies.

“He has great value,” said Hemon. “He’s the kind of proof that we’re better than they thought.”

And likewise, the Djokovic controversy in Australia has created a sense of victimhood that fuels Serbian nationalism – a belief that “the West hates him because he is a Serb,” as Hemon said.

The outrage in Serbia will likely not subside even after the Australian Open is over. If Djokovic continues to resist vaccination, his ability to travel and compete in other tournaments may be limited. In a time of pandemic, the best tennis player in the world may be an international athlete. Paul Annacone, who once coached Federer and is now a commentator for the Tennis Channel, said the Djokovic situation made him sad.

“It’s a shame,” he said, “and I feel especially bad for tennis.”

This is the second time in a few months that tennis has become the focus of an international dispute. The The November disappearance of Chinese chess player Peng Shuai, after she publicly accused a former senior government official of sexual assault, renewed interest in China’s human rights record and cast a shadow over Beijing Winter Olympics, will begin in three weeks. In Peng’s case, the tennis community came together to demand proof of her safety and well-being, and the response has become a source of pride for the sport.

Not so with the Djokovic case, it was a total embarrassment. While it seems that the red tape is at least partly to blame, Djokovic is the cause of his own troubles. He applied for a visa that included inaccurate and possibly misleading information, and had the wisdom to appear unvaccinated in a country that has endured several Covid-19 lockdowns- 19 in the world and that is sagging below the Omicron variant. At the very least, Djokovic’s approach shows indifference, although his critics, whose numbers are growing by the hour, tend to see it as callous indifference. His recent admission that he conducted an interview with a French journalist in December after allegedly contracting the coronavirus sparked particularly intense outrage. (Reporters say Djokovic did not disclose that he tested positive.)

Whether it was a miscalculation, arrogance or some combination of the two that made Djokovic think he could show up in Melbourne unvaccinated and just competing, he now finds himself ripped off. established in the world of tennis. Few players have publicly supported him. Former world No 1 Martina Navratilova says she has always spoken out for Djokovic and feels that he got “a rough deal” from fans hostile to him. But not now.

“I’ve defended Novak for years,” she said, “but I can’t defend him on this.”