Rafael Nadal slams Novak Djokovic for refusing to get vaccinated ahead of Australian Open

Rafael Nadal insists he has no sympathy for Novak Djokovic after the world No.1 saw his visa cancelled ahead of the Australian Open.

Djokovic has been barred from entering Australia after spending over eight hours in isolation following a visa mix-up.

The Serbian, who has not publicly confirmed his vaccination status, flew out to Australia after being granted a controversial medical exemption to play at the first grand slam tournament of the year.

However, he was unable to pass through passport control after his team submitted the wrong paperwork and requested a sub-class of visa that does not apply to those who have received medical exemptions from a Covid-19 vaccine.

Djokovic’s team have submitted an application for an interim injunction and he still retains hope of defending his Australian Open title, despite the increasing political pressure to deport him, while his long-time rival Nadal has added his own name to the growing list of critics.

‘It seems a rough situation, but at the end of the day the only thing that I can say is we have been going through very challenging times and a lot of families have been suffering a lot during the last two years with the pandemic,’ said the Spaniard after his victory over Ricardas Berankis at the Melbourne Summer Set tournament.

‘I mean, it’s normal that the people here in Australia get very frustrated with the case because they have been going through a lot of very hard lockdowns and a lot of people were not able to come back home.

‘From my point of view, that’s the only thing that I can say is I believe in what the people who knows about medicine…