Melbourne – Germany’s top tennis player Alexander Zverev has sided with the Serbian top star in the entry dispute over Novak Djokovic, speaking out in favour of his participation in the Australian Open.
“I don’t think it’s very fair for a person to come here and not be able to play,” said the 24-year-old from Hamburg, adding: “The Australian government and the Victorian government should have been clear in advance what was going to happen.”
Serbian defending champion Djokovic’s start at the Grand Slam tournament, which begins on Monday, remains in doubt. A federal court in Melbourne will hear the 34-year-old’s appeal on Sunday. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke had declared the visa of the world number one invalid on Friday, also citing public interest. Djokovic is the record winner of the Australian Open with nine titles.
“I don’t know enough about the situation, but I think if it wasn’t Novak Djokovic, the world number one with 20 Grand Slam titles, all that, it wouldn’t be such a big drama,” Zverev said.
In view of the high Corona numbers in Melbourne, however, Zverev is limiting himself a lot. He is not going anywhere – apart from training – the 24-year-old from Hamburg said in Melbourne on Saturday. “I’m not taking any risks. I want to play the tournament as well as possible.” Just over 25,000 new cases were reported for the Australian state of Victoria on Saturday.