‘Let Him Play’: Tennis Great Martina Navratilova Sides With Novak Djokovic Despite Disagreeing With Him

Novak Djokovic has won his legal battle against the government of Australia. After securing a medical exemption in order to play in the Australian Open, the Serbian finally landed in Melbourne last week.

However, border forces detained him immediately and canceled his visa as well. Djokovic’s legal team then appealed against the same, and on Monday, Federal Judge Anthony Kelly ruled in the Serbian’s favor.

Here is what 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova has to say about the matter.

Martina Navratilova wants Novak Djokovic to play

65-year-old former champion and decorated player Martina Navratilova has stated her opinion on the matter. According to her, the judge should not have overturned Novak Djokovic’s visa cancellation.

Martina Navratilova cited an opinion on why it was wrong to overturn the current World No. 1’s visa cancellation on Twitter. In fact, she echoed the sentiments about how Novak Djokovic staying in Australia posed a safety threat in terms of the coronavirus.

Furthermore, Navratilova stated her disagreement with Novak Djokovic on the matter in general. “I disagree with not getting vaccinated,” she wrote.

Nevertheless, the former champion does agree that “at the end of the day, it seems Novak did play by the rules.” Stating that Djokovic stuck to the rules which allowed “for the exemption,” Navratilova claimed that the 20-time Grand Slam champion “was burned”.

Thus, she asked Tennis Australia to “let him play.” Clearly, Navratilova doesn’t agree with Novak Djokovic’s personal stance. However, she still wishes to see him play, as the rules did allow an exemption.

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Consequently, Djokovic applied for the same and managed to secure said exemption, and should now be able to play the Australian Open, where he is the defending champion.

Djokovic wants to stay and play

With the entire mess in Melbourne around him, Novak Djokovic had refrained from speaking too publically about the matter. However, after judge Anthony Kelly ruled in his favor yesterday, the Serbian took to Twitter to express his thoughts.

Djokovic expressed his pleasure and gratitude for the judge’s ruling. Then, he expressed that “despite all that has happened”, he wishes to stay and compete in the Australian Open.

He then began to thank his fans for their support during this time, stating that he remains focused on the Grand Slam because it is “on of the most important events we have” for the amazing fans of tennis.

However, the Serbian champion might not entirely be in the clear yet, as the government could still re-cancel his visa. In fact, this time, it might also come with a 3-year ban from the country.

Clearly, there is still a lot to unpack in this case, and with the Australian Open looming right around the corner, everybody involved is losing precious time.

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