With Djokovic’s position in Limbo, so is the Australian Open

In McNamee’s view, “if Novak is going to be fired, the time to do so is before the draw.”

The Grand Slam draws have certainly been revised before that. Andy Murray, the original second seed at the 2017 US Open, withdrew with a hip injury after finishing the draw.

But no one in 2017 questioned Murray’s right to play. Djokovic is in a slimmer position, partly because some of his colleagues reluctantly agreed to be vaccinated, out of respect for the Australian Open’s rule that no player should be allowed to compete without being vaccinated or There are no high standards for medical exemptions.

Marton Fucsovics, Hungary’s top men’s tennis player, was the first prominent singles player to speak out, insisting that Djokovic should not have come to Melbourne and that “there are rules that were drawn up months ago”.

Stine, the coach, said several other players agreed.

“Sure, he’s playing by his own rules,” Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece said, the 4th ranked player in the world. Tsitsipas described Djokovic’s strategy of sticking to his anti-vaccination stance as “bold” and added that it made the majority of players who had complied with the vaccine claim “look like idiots.” “.

Stine said there was also concern that Tennis Australia and Craig Tiley, its chief executive, had gone too far in favor of Djokovic, even though his application for a vaccination waiver was reviewed by an independent health panel determined.

“Obviously Tennis Australia and Craig Tiley, they want Djokovic here to play, which is good for their event,” Stine said. “I think Craig has gone to great lengths to try to help Novak in any way he can to make sure he gets to the country, and in the end it looks like he’s getting special treatment. And I don’t like that in our sport no matter what. No one should be treated special. That’s what sport is all about.”

The reality is that the tennis elite, like many other sports superstars, receive special treatment: preferential scheduling, main court access and other creature comforts. Tiley, eager to support the Australian Open, has spoken openly about the need to keep star content. But he did not speak openly on Thursday, declining requests to answer questions from the media after the men’s draw was complete.