?If you are vaccinated you can play?: Rafael Nadal short on sympathy for Djokovic

The ignominy of Novak Djokovic's attempt to enter Australia to pursue a record 21st grand slam singles title was driven home on Thursday when Rafael Nadal responded to the world No 1's visa cancellation by stressing the necessity of being vaccinated against Covid.

After spending his first night in Australia at the airport being interrogated by border officials, Djokovic spent the second in a quarantine hotel awaiting a visa appeal hearing on Monday. It followed an extraordinary day of rolling developments, with the Serbian player at the centre of a diplomatic and political furore over the validity of his medical exemption from Covid-19 vaccination.

Nadal, however, saw it in simpler terms. Speaking after he successfully returned to competition for the first time since August with a straight sets win over Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, he reiterated that the clearest way to ensure participation in Melbourne was through embracing vaccination and that Djokovic had known the conditions for many months.

"The only thing that I can say is 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. That's my point of view," said Nadal.

He continued: "I went through the Covid. I have been vaccinated twice. If you do this, you don't have any problem playing here. That's the only clear thing. The rest of the things, I don't want to have or to give to you an opinion that I don't have the whole information. The only clear thing for me is if you are vaccinated, you can play in the Australian Open and everywhere, and the world in my opinion has been suffering enough to not follow the rules."

Nadal was asked if he felt sorry for Djokovic given the torrid situation his rival is now in, but the Spaniard's response indicated that his sympathy was limited. Nadal said that decisions come with consequences, as has been the case for Djokovic after his decision to fly to Melbourne despite being unvaccinated.

"I think if he wanted, he would be playing here in Australia without a problem. 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."