Is he a victim or a perpetrator?
Does Novak Djokovic deserve pity or malice?
Currently the number one in the tennis world rankings is sitting in the room of a makeshift quarantine hotel in Melbourne, instead of preparing for the games for a tenth win at the Australian Open.
With the attempt to enter Australia thanks to a medical exemption, the athlete failed on Thursday night.
The border authorities arrested him and want to deport him.
A judge will decide on this on Monday. This is a misfortune for the defending champions from Melbourne, in which he has a share. Because the mood is also heated because the Serb has spoken out against vaccination several times. The supporters, the vast majority of Australians, are not on his side. The people, 91 percent of whom have been vaccinated after some hard blows of fate, consider the tennis player to be an arrogant top athlete who demands special rights for himself at the height of the pandemic. In view of the anger of the Australians at the tennis heroes, the German debate about Bayern player Joshua Kimmich is comparatively small.
We can already learn from the Djokovic affair. When his father lost all measure in his comments, the Serbian president wanted to send his troops to Canberra and the lawyer put pressure on the judge, they turned the legal test into a smear theater, played on the world stage. The top athlete would be well advised to use the time in the hotel room to whistle back his troops.
Australia has not been intimidated by Beijing for the past two years; With its ridiculous threatening gestures, the Djokovic team gambled away urgently needed sympathy points. The world star should also take note of the force of social media: Boasting that he was traveling to Melbourne with a special permit was what set the ball rolling. He should have known that thousands of Australians - including the border guards - are upset about such behavior.
In particular, however, the Australians have to learn. As it currently stands, the unvaccinated star did not willfully cheat, but got caught in the jungle of regulations. Little did he and his team suspect that before the elections they would also find themselves caught between the fronts of federal government in Canberra and state government in Victoria. Despite warnings from the capital, the association issued the exemption certificates, which the higher-level border authorities now do not recognize. If, thanks to identical permits, players who have already entered the country are actually deported, the tournament becomes a farce. And Tennis Australia with manager Jayne Hrdlicka is demoted to an amateur player.
Djokovic himself is stuck in a swamp during these hours from which he will not be able to free himself alone.
Australian tennis players are already warning that if he is still allowed to enter the country and play, he will be received very unkindly by the spectators.
The series winner could live with that.
If the Australians punish his entry attempt as a fraudulent offense, however, he faces a three-year visa ban.
Djokovic will only return to the Australian Open at the age of 37.