"I hope Novak Djokovic will succeed in court on Monday" - Renata Voracova on Serb's visa hearing
Czech Republic's Renata Voracova has offered her support to Novak Djokovic ahead of the Serb's court hearing next week. Voracova, who, like Djokovic, had her visa revoked by Australia's border officials, said she hoped the World No. 1 would win his court case on Monday.
Novak Djokovic arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday with a medical exemption granted to him by Tennis Australia and the Victorian government. But he was detained for around nine hours at the airport by Border Forces, who deemed he did not meet the criteria for an exemption and canceled his visa.
The nine-time Australian Open champion appealed the cancelation and a verdict is expected on Monday.
Speaking to IDNES, Voracova, who also had her visa cancelled for the same reason as Djokovic, lamented the "political war" taking place in Australia.
"I have some insight. I don't know if my presence would change anything. I hope that Novak Djokovic will succeed in court on Monday. But in my case, everything would take a few more days. I don't want to waste time on the political war that is going on behind the scenes here," Renata Voracova said.
"I think the federal Government found a loophole in Victoria's protocol because of Djokovic. Now, Djokovic lawyers can find a loophole in federal regulations," Voracova added.
Unlike Djokovic, Voracova was initially allowed to enter Melbourne and she even played a doubles match at a WTA event. Djokovic's detainment led to questions about other players who were allowed into the country on similar exemptions following which Voracova was interrogated and her visa cancelled.
When asked if she felt like "collateral damage", Renata Voracova seemed to agree.
"I don't know if I can say it openly. But I think so. I don't understand why they would come to me after a week and say, 'Look, what was set up is no longer valid," Voracova said.
Detained Czech tennis player Renata Voráčová:"I hope that Djokovic will succeed in court on Monday. I want them to let him play. We are athletes, we came for tennis, we read the rules, met the conditions, and received an exception after a lengthy process"
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"On the one hand, I ended up like this because of Novak Djokovic, at the same time, I want them to let him play" - Renata Voravoca
During the conversation, Voracova asserted that she did not hold anything against Novak Djokovic for landing her in such a position. She also said she hoped Djokovic would not be forced to miss out on his Australian Open title defense.
"On the one hand, I ended up like this because of Novak Djokovic. And I don't think I'm alone. More health exemptions have been issued. At the same time, I want them to let him play. We are athletes, we came for tennis and we are not here to resolve local disputes," Voracova said.
"We read the rules, met the conditions, and received an exception after a lengthy process. So I see no reason why we should after this sit locked in a hostel. That seems pretty sad to me."
Major issue exposed here with the medical exemption process. The panel did not check the validity of some of the documentation provided in the Djokovic application or do it to the level required by Australian Border entry laws.
In the end this has become a farce
#AusOpen
Voracova was, however, quick to criticize Tennis Australia, who have come under the scanner for apparently giving players inaccurate information regarding vaccine exemptions.
"I did everything they asked me to do, apparently the Tennis Australia has misled us, which is annoying. I wanted to focus on tennis, not visas, quarantine. It's really weird that I spent a week here, played a match... And then they came for me."