Djokovic episode Down Under
The AO 2022 is underway sans the defending champion, Djokovic, pictured in the background - AFP.
Australia took the responsibility and accommodated the opening of 2022 tennis season for both professional bodies WTA and ATP. They have done so taking risks and criticism. Players and spectators will face good deal of hardship in Australia. Reduction in the number of events was most visible.
The few staged to a finish had checks to control the virus spread. In the last two years, unavailability regular practice was the most salient disadvantage to players worldwide. We are still in it and it is telling in the playing form of players.
Travel to Australia is not easy either, with long haul flights, vaccination proof, quarantine requirements and going through transit airports were inevitable. Many schedule flights were cancelled and some for crew unavailability.
Eventually the Australian Open (AO) is rolling since January 17. A refreshing tennis entertainment and the empty seats in the grand stand was the order of the day in a nearly locked down city, Melbourne. Handful of players were tested positive, Tomic of Russia was one of them.
The first day showed players lack of sharpness in conducting effective tactical play.
Nadal has returned and is playing his 21 Australian Open racing to win his 21st Grand Slam title. The recent past New-Gen players have shown plucky performances. Often it has been a one off performance and fading away from them. However, a good few have come through giving credibility to the New-Gen programme.
Players to watch among women at the Australian Open are the seeded players. The top end players of the world ranking are shaky. At present, all eyes are on Badosa, Swiatek, Raducanu, Mugurusa, Rybakina, Jabeur, Sabalenka, Barty and Sakkari.
The men’s tennis showed stronger consolidation with New-Gen players ending up in the ranking. In the recently concluded ATP Cup Canadian Ali Assime’s performance was the best. He with Shapovalou took the ATP Cup home. Ali Assime registered a win against world No.3 Zverev in that event.
The men expected to perform well in AO are Berrettini, Medvedev, Zverev, Ali Assime, Nadal, Tsitsipas and Hurkacz. We are very unlikely to see a dark horse emerging from Australian Open in the present situation. There could be upsets through under performances of the seeded players. Playing form of players requires free flow of lifestyle. The last two years has taken lot of the jest out of the players waning their enthusiasm. Precautions, repeated vaccines, revolt and lockdowns are not the best to live. Many of our precious freedom from the past five decades fizzled out in the just two years. Restrictions have become an unpalatable way of life now.
Djokovic Saga
Many would wish this never happened. This is the third year under the cloud of virus threat. We saw the signs that gave us some hope to think COVID-19 is somewhat under control. Then comes the month of November and December of 2021. What we got was not only Christmas and New Year but also the COVID-19 virus and its variant in full force around the globe.
A virus eliminated men’s world No.1 tennis player from the draw of the first Grand Slam of 2022. Can this happen! Well it has happened.
What more, already there are doubts Djokovic playing the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year. France is in the process of making vaccine mandatory for sports participation with other events.
Why, has Djokovic not taken the vaccination? This provocative question has an answer. He is one of the anti-vaccine campaigners in Europe.
To my memory, Djokovic, his wife and training team went down with the virus in the middle of 2021. Most of us did not know that he had a relapse in December of 2021 until he approached the immigration desk at the Melbourne airport.
What followed was not to believe set of events. Australian border control came in, he was taken to a quarantine hotel and Djokovic was detained, an appeal followed and the court ordered his release.
Unfortunately, that was not the end. An Australian cabinet minister revoked his visa, again Djokovic went into quarantine hotel and made a legal appeal, Australian court verdict upheld Ministerial order, he was in the quarantine hotel again, Serbian Prime Minister voiced his displeasure, appealing, accusing, in short went into unpleasant situations. Next thing what happened is Djokovic was in a plane to Dubai, deported!
Some questions will hang without an answer for a long time. How can a player who had coronavirus in mid December 2021 come to play Australian Open in mid January 2022. Is there such a magic cure available in the world? Sports money is big, big enough engage best of medical services. This will certainly be of interest to authorities.
The Australian Open men’s draw took place on January 14 with Djokovic as the top seed in the draw. On January 15, he lost his position in the draw and had to leave Australia. In the Australian Open draw, his replacement was Salvatore Caruso of Italy ranked 150 in the world and is 29 years old.
The drama around Australian Open made tennis somewhat of a secondary attraction. Nadal concerned over it made it very clear and said, ‘It is not about a player but an event, the Australian Open Championship of 2022’. Australian Open has given a taste of the colours to come in 2022.
–George Paldano, European and Asian competition player; Accredited Coach of German Tennis Federation; National coach Brunei and Sri Lanka; Davis Cup, Federation Cup; coached top 200 ATP, WTA and ITF Top 50. 0775448880–