Nick Kyrgios has joined former Davis Cup player Sam Groth to criticize Novak Djokovic after the No. 1 in Serbia wrote to the organizers of the Australian Open asking them to ease quarantine restrictions for players.
Passengers who arrived on three charter flights were quarantined, including more than 70 players who could not train outside their rooms for 14 days before the start of the first Grand Slam on February 8.
A Spanish tennis website reported that Djokovic wrote to Australian Tennis Chief Craig Tiley with a list of “requests”, requesting short periods of isolation and moving players to “private houses with tennis courts”.
Djokovic’s management team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kyrgios has repeatedly criticized Djokovic in 2020 for organizing the Adria Tour in the Balkans, where several players, including top Serbs, contracted the virus.
“Djokovic is a tool,” Kyrgios, the 47th in the world, said on Twitter.
Djokovic, who chose to rent a private home instead of staying at a hotel during the 2020 US Open, is among the top players to meet the mandatory quarantine in Adelaide before traveling to Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of the year. .
Many Australians have questioned the decision to host the tournament, with organizers flying 1,200 players and their entourage when thousands of citizens are stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Djokovic, who founded the Professional Association of Tennis Players last year after resigning as head of the ATP players’ council, has sought to gain popularity, Australian Groth said.
“Is it serious? It’s a selfish political move to gain popularity,” he wrote in News Ltd.
Groth also highlighted the criticism Djokovic received for organizing the Adriatic tour in June.
“To suggest that players should have a shorter quarantine is not only ridiculous, but an insult to the Australians who have had to endure it,” Groth added.
“What did he think would happen?” To stay [Victoria’s Premier] Would Dan Andrews say, “Sure Novak, whatever you want”? Save me. “
Bernard Tomic’s girlfriend, Vanessa Sierra, shot flak from Kyrgios after complaining that the food served in the quarantined hotel room was cold and groping that she had to wash her hair.
“This is the worst part of quarantine,” Sierra said on her YouTube channel. “I don’t wash my own hair. I never washed my hair. I’m just not doing anything. Normally, I have hairdressers who do it twice a week for me.
“This is the situation we’re facing. I can’t wait to get out of quarantine just to get my hair done.”
Kyrgios, 25, who criticized tennis players for violating COVID-19 protocols since the beginning of the pandemic, was not amused.
“I don’t mind Bernie, but his lady obviously has no prospects, ridiculous scenes,” Kyrgios wrote on Twitter.