Greek-Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios called on Australia to “do better” in its handling of the situation.
Kyrgios, who has been an outspoken critic of Djokovic in the past, came to the Serbian star’s defence.
Kyrgios called for Australia to treat Djokovic with more humanity.
“Look I definitely believe in taking action, I got vaccinated because of others and for my mum’s health, but how we are handling Novak’s situation is bad, really bad,” he said.
“Like, these memes, headlines, this is one of our great champions but at the end of the day, he is human. Do better.”
Meanwhile according to the Herald Sun a leaked document from Tennis Australia (TA) has reportedly shown that the organisation wrongly informed unvaccinated players they could enter the country for the Australian Open if they had caught Covid within the last six months.
The Herald Sun reported unvaccinated players were told in December they needed to prove they’d had the virus within the past six months in order to gain an exemption to enter the country and compete in the year’s first grand slam.
Novak Djokovic has thanked fans for their support as he awaits the result of his appeal after being blocked from entering Australia in a row over Covid rules.
In a message on Instagram, the tennis world No. 1 wrote: “Thank you to people around the world for your continuous support. I can feel it and it is greatly appreciated.”