Srdjan Djokovic, the father of the Serbian world setter, expressed sharp criticism that the tennis players who will participate in the grand slam tournament Australian Open must be fully vaccinated.
Novak Djokovic has refused to say whether he has been vaccinated or not.
- During this blackmail and these conditions, he (Novak Djokovic) will probably not play.
"I would not do that," said his father.
But Victoria's state sports minister Martin Pakula opposes any blackmail.
- If you are an international tennis player, or an international athlete of some kind, it is about your responsibility towards society that welcomes you, he says.
- It's not about blackmail, it's about making sure Victoria is protected.
Hoping for games despite vaccine requirements
The Minister of Sports is keeping his fingers crossed that Djokovic chooses to play in Melbourne despite the vaccine requirement.
- I want to make it clear that I hope that Novak Djokovic gets vaccinated and that he plays the Australian Open.
But if he chooses not to do so, then it is a question for him, says Martin Pakula.
Djokovic is the reigning champion of the Australian Open and has won the tournament nine times in his career.
He has a total of 20 grand slam titles - as many as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The Australian Open opens on 17 January.
CLIP: Djokovic can be stopped from entering Australia (19/10 - 2021)
Javascript is disabled
Javascript must be turned on to play video
Read more about browser support
The browser is not supported
SVT does not support playback in your browser.
We therefore recommend that you switch to a different browser.
Read more about browser support
Novak Djokovic can be stopped from the Australian Open Photo: Bildbyrån