Djokovic: a champion in the field, but not always a champion in life

Controversy rages. On social media he has already been renamed Novax Djokovic, or Novak Djokovid. Those who try to defend him are overwhelmed with criticism, irreverent jokes, insults that are really not very elegant. He, however, the number 1 Serbian tennis player in the world rankings, awaits his fate - which will be decided only on Monday - in a hotel room near Tullamarine airport. A complex that usually hosts asylum seekers, light years away from the golden suites Nole is used to. Djokovic feels humiliated and discriminated against, and he immediately turned to his lawyers: an appeal has been filed against the decision to expel him from Australia.

Australia is treating him as a normal citizen of the world and from Serbia - even through the mouth of the president Aleksandar Vucic - very heavy accusations have already been made against the authorities of «Down Under». The ugly affair - as was normal - from sports has immediately become political, against a background of economic interests that make Djokovic, his entourage and those who granted the tennis player medical exemption to participate in the next Australian Open lose all sense of reality. All of this, it is worth remembering, in the context of a dramatic health crisis at planetary level.

However the soap opera ends, the embarrassment is already served. And none of the parties involved will come out well. Starting with the main player, the current world king of the racket. He is no stranger to stylistic lapses related to his behavior towards the pandemic. In the middle of the first wave, with half the planet locked up at home, he organized a tournament at home that turned into a big outbreak. He then apologized to the world, but Djokovic seems incapable of measuring the extent of his actions and of assuming the responsibilities arising from his status as a tennis star. A sort of «Le roi, c’est moi», to paraphrase King Louis XIV’s «L’Etat c’est moi».

Djokovic, and his father - who is urging people to invade the streets of Melbourne to free his imprisoned son -, his team, the Serbian authorities: all incapable of looking at the current world through the lens of common sense, blinded by the celebrity of the character and driven by the nauseating certainty that VIP status grants privileges that ordinary mortals cannot access. Of course, Australia is going to prevent Nole from doing his job. The fundamentals of democracy impose to respect the individual convictions of everyone and no one can pretend to change the Serbian tennis player’s mind about vaccines and about the one to combat coronavirus in particular. This is not the point. Laws and rules must be - or rather, should be - respected, beyond a famous surname. As an aggravating circumstance, Djokovic has never wanted to express himself openly on the subject, hiding behind a fragile - in this case - respect for privacy.

This is also a question of respect and empathy towards Melbourne and its population, forced to undergo one of the longest and hardest lockdowns in the world. It should be remembered that Australian citizens who were abroad were denied the possibility of returning home. So, if you look closely, the origin of the mess is the decision taken by the organizers of the Australian Open, endorsed by the authorities of the State of Victoria. Who are now arguing with the Australian federal government, also and above all because of different political colors.

The exemption for medical reasons granted to Djokovic is silently motivated by economic interests, by the pressure of millionaire sponsors who cannot and do not want to give up the presence of the number 1 in the world. Nole has cunningly and selfishly slipped into this loophole. On Monday, the judge who will have to pronounce on the Australian fate of Djokovic will decide whether, in the midst of the pandemic, the privilege of celebrity exists. It would be a slap in the face for those who have decided - albeit among a thousand doubts and uncertainties - to respect the rules. Especially from a country that has always used a hard fist. On the return flight that would take him back to Serbia, Djokovic would have all the time to think, to reflect because he is not able to enter the hearts of the fans like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Who is a champion on the court, is not always a champion in life.