"Novak Djokovic will be even more dangerous than before because he’s such a fighter and wants to show everyone he’s the best" - Barbara Schett
Tennis presenter and former player Barbara Schett believes Novak Djokovic will be "even more dangerous than before" if he is allowed to play at the Australian Open. The Austrian also backed the World No. 1 to defeat Rafael Nadal in the race to reach 21 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer are currently tied at 20 Grand Slam singles titles. Nadal is set to feature in Melbourne, while Federer will miss the tournament as he continues his recovery from a third knee surgery.
Djokovic is hoping to compete at the Australian Open after winning the court case that overturned the government's decision to revoke his visa. However, Australia's Minister of Immigration Alex Hawke is still considering exercising the "personal power" of cancelation to revoke the Serb's visa again.
The 34-year-old was detained after arriving in Melbourne on Thursday, despite being told he had been given exemption permission to enter Australia. All players competing at the 2022 Australian Open are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they are given a medical exemption.
In an interview with Express Sport, Schett declared Djokovic will still be the favorite to win his 10th Australian Open crown if he is able to compete.
"It all depends if he can play the Australian Open now or not," Schett said. "I mean, we all know he’s won the Australian Open that many times, more than anybody else. You would put him in as the favorite obviously."
The Austrian thinks it may be too early in Nadal's comeback for him to win the year's first Major, but expects the Spaniard to be the player to beat at Roland Garros. Nadal, who won the Melbourne Summer Set ATP 250 event last week, has won the French Open 13 times and the Australian Open once (in 2009).
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"Rafa Nadal, he won one of the lead-up tournaments," Schett continued. "I’m not quite sure if he’s ready yet on a hard court to go all the way at a Grand Slam but you can never rule him out, he’s super motivated. I would think Rafa Nadal at the French Open is going to be the favorite once again."
The former World No. 7 then picked Djokovic to win another Grand Slam before Nadal if both play in Melbourne, while asserting the Serb will be even tougher to stop after his visa row.
"Who will get there (to 21 Majors) first?," Schett added. "I think if Novak can play the Australian Open, I think he will still do it because I think he’ll be super motivated and he will be even more dangerous than before because knowing him, he’s such a fighter and he wants to show everyone that he’s the best. I still think Novak will be the one who gets there first."
"A lot of Australians think Novak Djokovic shouldn’t be allowed into Australia" - Barbara Schett
Barbara Schett also addressed how many Australians feel the World No. 1 should not be allowed to remain in Australia due to the country's vaccination rules.
"We still haven’t heard a decision from the Immigration Minister - he’s still to come out with a statement," Schett said. "And a lot of the Australians think that he shouldn’t be allowed into Australia because everybody has to be vaccinated here."