Tennis Thread

[truthaboutluv]

It is gratifying to see how the organizers' asses are getting lit up on social media for the obvious double standard and then trying to insult people's intelligence with that medical exemption bullshit. Like please spare us. 

The ass threw his entitled tantrum and they clearly believe they will lose more by not having the number one player compete (not that I actually believe Djokovic is any great draw but apparently they seem to think otherwise) and so they caved. Whatever.... 

I'll do what I always do with regard to Djokovic, which is not watch most of his matches. 

[galaxygirl76]

2 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

I guess you can't be missed if you get to show up anyway

Conspiracy theorists get to go wild over whether or not "I'm the highest ranked player in the world" is the actual reason he's getting an exemption.

It's 100% why they caved and let him in.

Eta, The fact that an 17 year old unvaxxed Indian player(who could not be vaxxed because India is behind on vaccinating and for under 18 its not widely available there yet) is not allowed to play is all we need to know. It's a Djoke. 

Edited January 4, 2022 by galaxygirl76

[NUguy514]

Guys, Djoker's medical exemption is completely valid: he doesn't believe in medicine and is, therefore, exempt from it!

[blackwing]

4 hours ago, Rootbeer said:

Well, of course not!  He has a 'medical exemption' granted by a panel of medical experts!  The medical reason being that the sponsors of the Australian Open would've been sick over his absence from the tournament.

Australia had been so firm in enforcing their COVID guidelines, I'm sad to see them cave to this COVIDiot.

Complete joke.  I think it would be great if many players protested and refused to attend.  He can get another Grand Slam win but it would have to be asterisked since there were only 20 players who showed up.  If only the players were strong enough to band together and do this.

Didn't this ass sponsor his own tournament at the beginning of COVID and lots of players ended up positive?

[roseha]

5 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Guys, Djoker's medical exemption is completely valid: he doesn't believe in medicine and is, therefore, exempt from it!

I am so totally disgusted by the AO caving to Djokovic on this.  What utter hypocrisy, do they really think anyone is buying this?  Anyone who has a valid "medical" exemption would have all the more reason to stay home and not risk being infected!

I've cancelled my subscription to TennisTV, I know they don't carry the Slams but I just felt like making a protest, the ATP has been horrible.  I doubt they will make a peep about this.  They couldn't even stand with the WTA in support of Peng Shuai.  I'm tempted to not watch the AO at all, and it pains me because I've loved tennis for years.  I sure won't watch any Djokovic match.

[Crashcourse]

31 minutes ago, roseha said:

I sure won't watch any Djokovic match.

Me either.

[theatremouse]

Did he somehow argue because he had covid already he has natural immunity? Did he pay for his own titers and prove he's still got similar antibody levels to recently vaccinated people? (not that antibodies are all there is to it, nor does anyone know how many are needed for actual protection.....)

Just trying to come up with a not-completely-hypocritical-and-bullshit explanation. Like, the players from Russia can't play because they're vaxed with a vaccine no other country has any data on, so it doesn't count. But this moron whines enough and can come on in with nothing?

[blackwing]

I’m particularly surprised that the AO organisers granted this asshole a bogus medical exemption, especially considering that Australia has been one of the more uber-paranoid countries about Covid. Things seem stricter in Australia than most countries in terms of entry, but apparently not if you’re the #1 player asshole in the world and complain enough.  
 

I don’t follow his twitter or Instagram, but I’m curious if he is aware of how much he is despised in relation to others.  I’m guessing he doesn’t care, but somewhere deep down inside him it has to hurt to know how unpopular he is.  

[emmawoodhouse]

Australian reaction hasn't been favorable at all. If they allow fans (I haven't heard anything, but with Omnicron spreading like wildfire, I'm doubtful), Novaxx would be roundly razzed. 

Edited January 5, 2022 by emmawoodhouse

[NUguy514]

3 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Just trying to come up with a not-completely-hypocritical-and-bullshit explanation.

There isn't one.

[cambridgeguy]

7 hours ago, blackwing said:

I don’t follow his twitter or Instagram, but I’m curious if he is aware of how much he is despised in relation to others.  I’m guessing he doesn’t care, but somewhere deep down inside him it has to hurt to know how unpopular he is.

It'll give him a chance to play the victim.

[galaxygirl76]

This is a total shitshow

 

[BitterApple]

What a dumpster fire.

Medical exemption my ass. I can't believe the AO caved.

[Harry24]

1 minute ago, BitterApple said:

What a dumpster fire.

Medical exemption my ass. I can't believe the AO caved.

Couldn't they have foreseen the shit storm that would rain down on them?

[galaxygirl76]

8 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

What a dumpster fire.

Medical exemption my ass. I can't believe the AO caved.

Rumor on the street is that the exemption is that he had Covid in the last 6 months.

[theatremouse]

Sounds like BF is doing the right thing if I'm understanding those tweets? If his visa app is bullshit, then it's correcting the shitshow to not allow him in the country?

[Irlandesa]

I think it just enhances the issue because now people are reacting as if it's CYA due to the blowback. 

It's just a mess.  It sounds like the process to get him the exemption, as unpopular as it may be, was probably done correctly and he qualified unless people are just suspicious, overall, of the documentation he'd provide and think the Australian (or Victorian?) government should be as well.

But it also sounds like there's a different VISA he should have applied for if he were planning to enter the country under a medical exemption.  People are blaming/crediting the government but it sounds like it's on Djokovic's team.

[NUguy514]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

It sounds like the process to get him the exemption, as unpopular as it may be, was probably done correctly and he qualified unless people are just suspicious, overall, of the documentation he'd provide and think the Australian (or Victorian?) government should be as well.

I don't believe for one second this exemption was on the up and up if, for no other reason, I don't trust Tennis Australia to prioritize money and don't trust Djoker on...well, anything at all ever.  He'd forge or have forged anything he'd need to.

Also, he's been to Australia approximately 300,000 times in the last seventeen years.  He should know how the fucking visa process for Australia works by now.  He's so detached from reality, though, I can see him responding to airport officials with "Visa?  What's visa, precious?"

[theatremouse]

If he's saying he had COVID in the last six months, he's either lying about when he had it OR newly admitting to having it twice.

[Irlandesa]

5 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

I don't trust Tennis Australia to prioritize money and don't trust Djoker on...well, anything at all ever.  He'd forge or have forged anything he'd need to.

Tennis Australia isn't giving the exemption, though.

5 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

He should know how the fucking visa process for Australia works by now. 

It sounds like the Visa needed is different for a medical exception.  It's on his team but if he already has the exemption, there's literally no benefit to submitting the wrong Visa application. 

[blackwing]

It sounds like Australian Open is claiming the medical exemption process was blind, with no names attached?  That's horsedung.  I'm sure they would be able to tell who was who.

Sounds like the minister for sport for Victoria won't allow him in, and the Australian Prime Minister won't allow him in either, unless he proves that he has a valid medical exemption.  So it sounds like the government doesn't care if the AO granted him a medical exemption.  They want him to actually prove that it is a valid exemption and not just one that the AO granted because they feel like they need him otherwise nobody would watch the tournament.  

Hey AO people... I've got news for you.  I think MORE people would watch if this ass is actually not playing.

[cambridgeguy]

7 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

Also, he's been to Australia approximately 300,000 times in the last seventeen years.  He should know how the fucking visa process for Australia works by now.  He's so detached from reality, though, I can see him responding to airport officials with "Visa?  What's visa, precious?"

He's rich, famous, and has a team.  I'll bet you any sum of money that his knowledge of the visa process is "sign whatever my team puts in front of me", just like with most other rich and famous people. 

And of course the AO exemption and the visa exemption are different, because why would the AO want to coordinate and make sure they're exempted international players can actually enter the country?

[NUguy514]

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Tennis Australia isn't giving the exemption, though.

That's not entirely true, though.  Players who applied for a medical exemption had to go through a two-step process, the first of which was to submit their exemption applications to be considered by a panel of experts in Tennis Australia and the second of which was an assessment by the Victorian government.  The officials can say whatever they want about everything being done by the book (and both the head of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley, and the acting sports minister of Victoria, Jaala Pulford, have publicly stated as much), but anyone who thinks that the Tennis Australia panel didn't know which application was his, that he wasn't subsequently granted special treatment, and that Tennis Australia didn't do whatever it could to push his exemption through with the Victorian government is crazy.

We'll see if he's able to skirt this visa issue, but according to the Australian Prime Minister, "[Djokovic] has to, if he's not vaccinated, must [sic] provide acceptable proof that he cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons to be able to access the same travel arrangements as fully vaccinated travellers."

[galaxygirl76]

Australia cancels visa of tennis No.1 Djokovic

World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic has been denied entry to Australia over an issue with his visa.

The player arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday where authorities noticed a mistake on his application.

Djokovic was due to play in the Australian Open, after being exempted from vaccination rules.

He will be flown out of the country later on Thursday but his lawyers will challenge the decision, Australian media report.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59889522

Edited January 5, 2022 by galaxygirl76

[roseha]

I hope this will hold true and that Australia will not allow him in under this phony "exemption".  By the way the Guardian had this quote from Rod Laver:

'The Australian tennis legend Rod Laver said in an interview with the Herald Sun that Djokovic should reveal the reason he was granted a medical exemption. “If he’s got a reason for [the exemption] then … we should know it,” Laver said. “Yes, you’re a great player and you’ve performed and won so many tournaments, so, it can’t be physical. So what is the problem?”'

[dcalley]

In other "anti-vaxxers who brought this on themselves" news:

 

[galaxygirl76]

22 minutes ago, dcalley said:

In other "anti-vaxxers who brought this on themselves" news:

 

I thought this was Ben Roethlisberger and I was so confused 🤣

Edited January 5, 2022 by galaxygirl76

[khyber]

As much as I detest Sandgren, I respect that he lived with the consequences of his decision & didn't try to game the system like Djoker.

[blackwing]

I'm happy that the government of Australia is standing firm.  So it seems that AO can grant a medical exemption to play in the tournament, but he still needs to get a visa to get into the country.  And the country said nope, sorry, so sad too bad, you need to a valid medical exemption to get a visa.  The country's requirement's are more stringent than AO and he couldn't qualify, so sayonara see ya!!!

He is apparently appealing.  And then what?  Sue the country of Australia for not letting him in?

The denial of entry is well deserved.

[Black Knight]

Most of Australia spent August-October 2021 in a major lockdown. Residents there were in no mood for Djokovic's bullshit.

I doubt Djokovic's team made a mistake in the visa application. His exemption from Tennis Australia didn't meet the more stringent standards for the visa (though I highly doubt he met Tennis Australia's standards either) and that's why they didn't apply for the right visa. I'm sure they were thinking that the government would just let it slide (like Tennis Australia did), because he's Djokovic #1 Tennis Player, but the public outcry prevented that.

[emmawoodhouse]

The president of Serbia is now involved, calls Novaxx's situation "harassment."

[BlackberryJam]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

The president of Serbia is now involved, calls Novaxx's situation "harassment."

I hope that’s a translation issue because if not, he doesn’t know the meaning of the word.

[truthaboutluv]

My favorite reaction to this entire shit show was Novak's father tweeting about them taking to the streets to protest this harassment of his son. And the social media response to said tweet was basically, "yes I'm sure the Australian government is terrified of five people...."  Because I'm not sure who else was the "them" he expected to take to the Melbourne streets in protest. 

[Black Knight]

2 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

My favorite reaction to this entire shit show was Novak's father tweeting about them taking to the streets to protest this harassment of his son.

I mean, there are parents where you look at their kids and can't figure out how the kids turned out the way they did, and then there are parents where...yeah.

[BlackberryJam]

For people who aren't already tennis fans, the Djoker love is going to last about ten minutes before they move on to something else. 

My twitter feed is filled with Rafa's comments, which are basically, I get my medical information from medical experts and I respect science, so I got vaccinated and the rules are the rules and we all know the rules, so make your choice, face the consequences.

 

[blackwing]

Now I see per ESPN that Novaxx's mom is whining that the Australian authorities are "keeping him prisoner".  No, Mama Djoke, they are not "keeping him prisoner".  He is free to leave the country and go home at any time.  But he is insisting that he has a right to enter the country despite the fact that he is not vaccinated and doesn't meet the requirements for entry.  He is the one asking to enter the country, and as a result, they are restricting him to a hotel room until they make a decision on this.  Until then, Australia doesn't want him spreading his germs around... what part of that doesn't she understand?

[wanderingstar]

13 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Now I see per ESPN that Novaxx's mom is whining that the Australian authorities are "keeping him prisoner".  No, Mama Djoke, they are not "keeping him prisoner".  He is free to leave the country and go home at any time.  But he is insisting that he has a right to enter the country despite the fact that he is not vaccinated and doesn't meet the requirements for entry.  He is the one asking to enter the country, and as a result, they are restricting him to a hotel room until they make a decision on this.  Until then, Australia doesn't want him spreading his germs around... what part of that doesn't she understand?

Not surprised at this. I can already tell Novak and his team will be portraying him as a victim in this whole scenario.

 

[BlackberryJam]

His hearing is set for Monday, but he’s supposed to remain in the hotel, which his mother also said is for immigrants and full of fleas. I’m sure it’s not great, but it’s not like he’s in Guantanamo.

I saw the video of the fans who have taken to the streets in support of him. There are like 20 people busy on their phones with about 8 cops there to monitor, and a grassy area with a few women dancing around with the Serbian flag.

Novak absolutely is free to choose not to get vaccinated and Australian is free to have their own rules and regulations about allowing the unvaccinated in to the country.

There are other players with a medical exemption in Australia, but those people didn’t make news out of their vaccination stance. Word is that Novak’s medical documentation is invalid. 

[galaxygirl76]

20 minutes ago, Gillian Rosh said:

Not surprised at this. I can already tell Novak and his team will be portraying him as a victim in this whole scenario.

 

He loves being the victim under normal circumstances so it's going to ramped up to 500 now. 

[NUguy514]

So, as I suspected, Tennis Australia thought it could weasel an exemption for Djoker, even though two letters from Australia's Health Minister in November made it clear that previous contraction of and recovery from COVID-19 was insufficient.  Fuck them, fuck Djoker, and fuck Djoker's awful parents; they're why he is the way he is.

His court date to appeal was postponed until Monday; honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he won and was allowed to play because I can't have nice things.

[blackwing]

22 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

His hearing is set for Monday, but he’s supposed to remain in the hotel, which his mother also said is for immigrants and full of fleas. I’m sure it’s not great, but it’s not like he’s in Guantanamo.

Hah.  He's got four more days in the hotel.  Can he wander around the hotel or is he confined to his room?  I'm hoping he's confined to his room.  I want him to attempt to break quarantine and get thrown out of the country for violating quarantine.

I remember that many players had to quarantine at a hotel prior to last year's AO, if they were on a flight with exposure.  I don't recall if Novaxx or Mama Djoke complained about how unfair it was to those players, but I would imagine they didn't.

[cambridgeguy]

16 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

He loves being the victim under normal circumstances so it's going to ramped up to 500 now. 

Scenario 1 - He gets kicked out and can't play.  He'll cry about being the victim.

Scenario 2 - He gets to stay, plays, and loses.  Well, he'll say he only lost because all of this ruined his preparation, so it doesn't really count and he's a victim.

Scenario 3 - He gets to stay and wins the whole thing.  Time to gloat about how he overcame unprecedented hardship to win - Federer and Nadal never had to go through anything like this.  What's the opposite of an asterisk?

[theatremouse]

Scenario 4: he contracts COVID again while in the hotel and can't play. He'll cry about being the victim (because it's the hotel's fault and not his own), but he won't cry too much, because he's going to stick with his story of how the disease is NBD.

[kittykat]

2 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Scenario 3 - He gets to stay and wins the whole thing.  Time to gloat about how he overcame unprecedented hardship to win - Federer and Nadal never had to go through anything like this.  What's the opposite of an asterisk?

Ugh no no no no no no!  If Rafa is the only one of the Three playing I want him to win and gain the overall major title record.  And have Fed win the next one so they can tie again. I haaaaaaaate that Novaxx is tied overall with those class acts for majors. 

[dcalley]

 

[CountryGirl]

On 1/4/2022 at 7:24 PM, Crashcourse said:

Me either.

Sometimes, I skip his matches. Other times, I hate-watch. 

[CountryGirl]

18 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

My favorite reaction to this entire shit show was Novak's father tweeting about them taking to the streets to protest this harassment of his son. And the social media response to said tweet was basically, "yes I'm sure the Australian government is terrified of five people...."  Because I'm not sure who else was the "them" he expected to take to the Melbourne streets in protest. 

File Novaxx's "struggles" under "Things most of the world couldn't care less about."

[CountryGirl]

I'm really, really hoping he cannot play and has to take his whining ass home. We need something good in 2022, dammit, and this would be a good start.

Him having zero chance at another calendar slam this year and no chance to beat the men's singles record for Majors at this tournament has me like this:

[truthaboutluv]

5 hours ago, dcalley said:

 

While I respect the effort to shed light on a very serious human rights issue, I'm also not here for the distraction and seeming attempt to victimize Novak in this situation.. Djokovic isn't a poor refugee seeking asylum being wrongly mistreated. He's an entitled little shit who thought he could cut corners and ignore the country's very public and strict stance on the issue of vaccination and the unvaccinated being allowed entry.

And he's getting his comeuppance for it. I will add that Tennis Australia has significant culpability in this as well, as they helped aid in the cutting corners, knowing very well Djokovic' flimsy ass reason for the medical exemption was not acceptable. Had they done what they SHOLUD have and declined his request, his ass would have stayed where he was. 

Edited January 7, 2022 by truthaboutluv

[CouchTater]

Talk about not being able to read a room.....Novak seems baffled by why he isn't as loved and respected by the fans as Roger and Rafa, and many others, quite frankly.  Add the current AO/COVID debacle example to the host of others.  He makes it really hard to like and respect him as a human being.  Sheesh.