Rafael Nadal has little sympathy for Novak Djokovic, and says the Serbian knew what he was in for when he departed for Australia.
Djokovic, a nine-time champion at Melbourne Park, is currently detained in an immigration hotel in inner northern suburb Carlton.
He arrived in Australia on Wednesday night under the impression he had been cleared to land with a medical exemption from the requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The 34-year-old has launched a court appeal against the cancellation of his visa, after border authorities rejected the grounds of his exemption.
The appeal has been adjourned until Monday morning, while Djokovic’s lawyers have secured an injunction to prevent his deportation until at least that afternoon.
“If he wanted, he would be playing here in Australia without a problem,” Nadal told reporters at the Melbourne Summer Set.
“He made his own decisions, and everybody is free to take their own decisions, but then there are some consequences.
“Of course I don’t like the situation that is happening. In some way I feel sorry for him. But at the same time, he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he makes his own decision.”
Djokovic said he was “opposed to vaccination” in April 2020; he later clarified he would maintain an “open mind” but opposed mandates.
Nadal wouldn’t be tempted to urge his rival, with whom he is tied on 20 Grand Slam victories, to get the jab.
“I don’t encourage no one,” he emphasised.
“I feel everyone has to do whatever feels good for them. But there are rules, and if you don’t want to get the vaccine then you can have some troubles. That’s the thing.
“Of course, after a lot of people had been dying for two years, my feeling is the vaccine is the only way to stop this pandemic.
“That’s what the people who understand about this say, and I am no one to create a different opinion.”
Nadal tested positive for COVID-19 in Spain just before Christmas, upon arrival home from an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi.
“I believe in what the people who know about medicine say, and if the people say that we need to get vaccinated, we need to get the vaccine,” the 35-year-old went on.
“I went through the COVID, I have been vaccinated twice. If you do this, you don’t have any problem to play here.”
The 2009 Australian Open champion says he can sympathise with the furious local response to Djokovic’s pronouncement that he would be travelling down under with an exemption.
“I mean, it’s normal that the people here in Australia get very frustrated with the case,” he added.
“They have been going through a lot of very hard lockdowns, and a lot of people were not able to come back home.”