I'm a bit surprised with how one sided this discussion has been since the thread was re-opened, especially since the narrative in the media and even amongst players who were against Novak's participation is now changing. This whole circus would have been avoided if the various levels of the Australian government and tennis association had a clear and consistent policy in place for foreign players entering Australia, i.e. those not vaccinated cannot enter the country, a policy that I'm sure many of us would support.
What I find interesting, but not surprising, is not this ongoing political debacle, but how quick people were to turn against Novak. Even now, as it becomes more apparent that he was cleared to enter Australia, people are trying to dig up whatever reason to cast a negative light on arguably the best tennis player of all time. In my view, it’s a reflection of how E. Europeans (not to mention Russians) are viewed by Western societies. It’s why E. European athletes like Djokovic, Ovechkin, Modric, Jokic who reached the pinnacle of their respective sports, will never get the public recognition they deserve. Some of the recent comments in this thread about Serbia, made by members who clearly don't know much about the country, it's people or the history and likely wouldn't be able to pinpoint it on a map are perfect illustrations of my point. I realize that many members will brush this off and pretend that prejudices don’t exist, but I figure there may be some more progressive, open minded members who will consider a different perspective.
Let’s use Pianotuna’s post as an example, which clearly suggests that any information from Serbia should be scrutinized and cannot be trusted. I wonder why that might be…Also, the suggestion that Djokovic has somehow cheated his way to 20 GS titles by using medical exemptions is pure comedy. When Federer or Nadal use a medical timeout, it’s obviously for a legitimate reason. When Novak does it, it’s so he can gain a strategic advantage. And of course, let’s dig up a story about the Balkan War and Novak’s alleged response to some allegations that were made more than a decade ago to suggest that he’s a bad guy and somehow supportive of the atrocities that were carried out during the civil war. Not only has Novak never shown any sort of hostility towards players from other Balkan countries, he is probably the first (at least high profile) player to hire a head coach from another Balkan country (Ivanisevic), but I guess that doesn’t matter since it doesn’t fit your narrative.
Your hopes that if Novak plays, he is booed and his errors are cheered, is something that Novak has had to face his entire career. Apart from smaller tournaments held in Asia and some parts of Europe, Novak goes into most matches facing a crowd that wants him to lose, regardless of who he plays. This is only amplified when Djokovic plays against Nadal or Federer, where he is up against not only his main rivals and some of the best to have ever played the game, but a crowd that explodes in celebration with every point won by Nadal/Federer and celebrates Djokovic’s errors. Anyone who thinks this wouldn’t take a toll on an athlete or trigger frustration and resentment towards the crowd is delusional. I can’t think of another top athlete over the past 25 years who has faced the kind of negative pressure or scrutiny that Djokovic has over his career.
Anyway, I’ve said what I wanted to say. I doubt I’ll revisit this thread as I’d prefer not to read any more ignorant comments about Serbs.
Here’s to the other half who will be cheering for #21 and undisputed GOAT status.
