"This whole situation has taken a lot of spotlight away from us competitors" - Alex de Minaur on Novak Djokovic circus
Alex de Minaur refused to openly criticize Novak Djokovic for not getting vaccinated before coming to Australia, but did indicate players have grown tired of the Serb's visa situation overshadowing the lead-up to the Australian Open.
The World No. 1 has been embroiled in controversy ever since landing in Melbourne with a medical exemption. The Serb was detained in Melbourne airport as the Australian Border Force officials deemed his exemption to be invalid. The Serb had his visa reinstated by the court, before Australia's Immigration Minister stepped in and canceled it for a second time.
Speaking about the saga, de Minaur said he was not surprised by the backlash Djokovic faced, given the strict restrictions Australian citizens have been living with since the onset of the pandemic. But at the same time, he stressed that vaccination was Djokovic's personal choice.
"Look, Australians have gone through a lot. There's no secret about that. They've had it very tough. They've done a lot of work to protect themselves and their borders. When you're coming in, as well as every other tennis player, if you wanted to come to the country, you had to be double vaccinated. It was up to him, his choices, his judgement. Here we are."
Alex de Minaur tees off on the Djokovic situation.
You could tell this is what he wanted to say at the ATP Cup. Finally had enough #AusOpen https://t.co/dYWYWeDybP
De Minaur added that all the events surrounding Djokovic have taken the spotlight away from those competing at the Australian Open and that he was ready to shift his focus towards the tournament.
"I think first of all, this whole situation has taken a lot of spotlight away from us competitors. We're here to play the Australian Open. We're here on our own terms ready to compete, hopefully have a very good couple weeks. It feels like it's taking away from us competitors who just want to start. We're just eager to go out and compete.
"The Australian Open is always an incredible event, my home Slam, my favourite tournament. To be honest, I'm just ready to put all of this behind me and focus on playing my tennis matches, kind of let my tennis do the talking."
De Minaur's best showing at the Australian Open was a run to the third round in 2019 and 2021. The 22-year-old said his aim is to as deep as possible this year.
"It's always the goal to go deeper and deeper, keep achieving more goals. But, yeah, like any other year, I'm taking it very slowly, step by step, trying to focus on myself. I know my level's there, so it's just about stepping out on court and showing that. Take it day by day, like I've done my whole career. We'll take it one match at a time."
"I think him winning 20 Slams doesn't make him act one way or the other off the court" - Alex de Minaur on Novak Djokovic
During the press conference, de Minaur was also asked whether a player needed to be "single-minded" to be as successful as Novak Djokovic on the court. The Australian replied in the negative, saing a player could showcase completely contrasting personalities on and off the court.
"Look, I think him winning 20 Slams doesn't make him act one way or the other off the court. He's an incredible athlete. He's done amazing things in the sport of tennis," de Minaur said.
"But at the end of the day you can be a completely different personality off the court. It doesn't correlate from when you step on the court and when you're off the court. Whatever he does off the court is up to him, his judgment."
Djokovic is currently in detention, with a final verdict on his visa set to be made on Sunday. If the Serb misses the Australian Open, there is a chance he could lose his No. 1 ranking to either Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev.
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