Australian Tennis Open 2022

This is not a joke. As Nadal said, all Djokovic had to do was be vaccinated. I understand certain Australians have not handled this well, that we don’t have a clear statement explaining what an Exemption is, and that if Djokovic has personal, medical reasons for not being vaccinated, it would help his cause if he was more honest about it.

If he doesn’t play, does this make Alexander Zverev the favourite? Given my pathetic predictions last year, I am going to refrain from them this year, but welcome other thoughts- esp the potential for an Osaka-Raducanu showdown.

I know this guy is an idiot, but the process that led to him being refused entry has been very poorly handled. We've been told that he was given an exemption to play by the State government and Tennis Australia after a blind assessment by medical panel, but there has been no explanation as to why the Federal authorities made a different assessment. It's also unclear why the Feds waited until he arrived before acting, even though they knew about the exemption and had previously issued a visa for him.

I think Medvedev was the favorite last time I checked. Zverev definitely has a shot and so does Nadal though maybe not as good. Actually I'd love to see Nadal pull it off.

I didn't follow how the decision was made but I was very happy with the conclusion. Novak has always been a bit of a shmuck but I used to enjoy watching him play and liked him. I've gotten very bad vibes from his whole crew recently. Whatever. It's a pandemic and he wants to screw around.

He had a very good shot in Australia bc I thought he looked very fatigued in the finals of the U.S. Open at the end of a long, great season for him and the rest has probably done him well. He has no-one to blame but himself.

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Originally Posted by Stavros

esp the potential for an Osaka-Raducanu showdown.

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The U.S. Open was the first time I watched Raducanu play. I was obviously impressed and am looking forward to seeing what she does. I have no predictions unfortunately. I haven't been watching enough to get a feel for the entire field.

The medical grounds for exemption are-

Cardiac illness or an acute medical condition;
A mental health condition puts their vaccination at risk;
Potentially fatal or serious reaction to the first vaccine dose;

but as Ros Atkinson shows, if Djokovic has recovered from Covid in the last 6 months he can defer a vaccination is free to enter Australia….see here

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-59888675

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Originally Posted by Stavros

but as Ros Atkinson shows, if Djokovic has recovered from Covid in the last 6 months he can defer a vaccination is free to enter Australia….see here

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Reports indicate this was the basis on which the exemption was claimed, which suggests the Federal authorities judged that the supporting documentation was insufficient even though Tennis Australia's medical panel had found it acceptable.

There definitely seems to be a whiff of politics about this. Only a day or so before he flew in the PM was saying that it was a matter for the state government. It has also been reported that other players claiming an exemption on the same basis have been allowed in already. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-...open/100743442

Even schmucks deserve due process. I guess we will know more after the Federal Court hearing on Monday

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Originally Posted by filghy2

Even schmucks deserve due process.

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You're right.

As I'm sure you guys know last season Novak nearly won all four. I was rooting for him against Medvedev in the finals at the US Open. Medvedev played great, hits the ball really cleanly, serves big, and moves very well for a big man. Still I thought Novak was sluggish from all of the tennis he played, particularly the previous match against Zverev which went five sets.

This really does screw up what would likely be a very productive season for him. Still the next generation has some great players and I'm interested to see both Zverev and Medvedev. Thiem has been out with a wrist injury which I hope he overcomes....the guy has got such a great game.

It appears that Tennis Australia has one policy, the Ministry of Health another, but Tennis Australia claims its policy on vaccinations is based on MoH guidelines, so someone needs to reconcile these contradictions, and Djokovic may be due an apology. The hysteria in Serbia via his father is a lamentable if typical example of the victim mentality Serbs often wallow in, as if they had no record to apologise for. One hopes this little drama will pass, and someone make an adult decision.

So, he is free…to play or not to play? I guess it depends on who is in charge. And who might that be?

Evidently the judge agreed that the process was not appropriate, but the Feds still seem to be claiming that they have the right to cancel his visa regardless. I don't know how that works, but I don't think it would be a good look.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-...urne/100747256