Despite the fact that the important thing for Rafa Nadal this Monday was to win the first round of the Australian Open against the American Marcos Giron, it was inevitable that the media in Melbourne would ask him about the deportation of Novak Djokovic and his consequent expulsion from the tournament. The Balearic was elegant and wise when referring to this circumstance, although he pointed out that he was “quite tired” of talking about the matter. “Almost a week ago when he won the case in the first instance, he was able to get his visa back and train. I said that justice had spoken. If justice said that his visa is valid and that he could play here, justice had spoken, then it was the fairest thing, that he deserved to play here. Yesterday the court said otherwise. I will never be against what justice says,” Nadal reiterated, repeating the same word a lot.
Then he talked about what he thought “personally”. “I don’t think it’s the ideal situation. Theirs in the world of sport is that the best players are on the track and playing the most important tournaments, without a doubt. That’s better for the sport. If Novak Djokovic will play here, it would be the best for everyone, there is no doubt about that. Another thing is what happened. As I said at the beginning, I can’t say anything else because I think the situation is now very clear.”
The Spanish also spoke of his relationship with the Serbian: “I always had great respect and a very good relationship with my rivals. In my opinion, I think life is much better when you have a good relationship with everyone, especially in the locker room. That’s how it was throughout my tennis career, with some very casual exceptions for a few moments. That’s my philosophy. It’s better to have a good relationship with everyone because you’re happier that way. With Novak, it has not been an exception. We always had a great relationship. I sincerely wish him all the best.”
As for what happened with the Balkan, Nadal believes that “the situation was a disaster.” “He is not the only one who probably did things wrong in that case. Of course, there are more responsible in this whole terrible situation that we have faced for the last two weeks. But of course, he is also one of those responsible. On a personal level, yes, I would like to see him play here. Whether it’s fair or not for him to play is another discussion that I don’t want to talk about anymore.”