Nick Kyrgios joined former Davis Cup player Sam Groth in criticizing Novak Djokovic after the world number 1 in the Serbian world wrote to the organizers of the Australian Open to ask them to facilitate quarantine restrictions to the players.
Passengers who arrived on three charter flights have been put in harsh quarantine, including more than 70 players who cannot train outside their rooms for 14 days before the first Grand Slam of the year begins on February 8th.
A Spanish tennis website reported that Djokovic wrote to Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley with a list of “demands”, calling for reduced periods of isolation and for players to move to “private houses with tennis courts”.
Djokovic’s management team did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
Kyrgios repeatedly criticized Djokovic in 2020 for organizing the Adria Tour exhibition event in the Balkans, where several players, including the top-ranked Serb, contracted the virus.
“Djokovic is a tool,” Kyrgios, ranked 47th in the world, said on Twitter.
Djokovic, who opted to rent a private home instead of staying in a hotel during the 2020 U.S. Open, is among the top players who are making 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 in 1,200 players and their surroundings when thousands of citizens are left abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Djokovic, who last year formed the Professional Association of Pro-independence Tennis Players after resigning as head of the ATP players ’council, was looking to gain popularity, Australian Groth said.
“Is it serious? It’s a selfish political movement to gain popularity,” he wrote in his News Ltd. column.
Groth also noted the criticism Djokovic received for organizing the Adria Tour in June.
“Suggesting that players have to have a shorter quarantine is not only ridiculous, it’s insulting to Australians who have had to endure it,” Groth added.
“What did you think would happen? That [Victoria’s Premier] Dan Andrews would say, “Sure, Novak, anything you want”? Save me. “
Bernard Tomic’s girlfriend Vanessa Sierra pulled flak out of Kyrgios after complaining that the food served in the quarantine hotel room was cold and complaining about having to wash her hair.
“That’s the worst part of quarantine,” Sierra said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t wash my own hair. I’ve never washed my own hair. I just don’t do anything. I usually have hairdressers who do it twice a week for me.
“That’s the situation we’re dealing with. I can’t wait to get out of quarantine just to be able to do my hair.”
Kyrgios, 25, who has reprimanded tennis players who have breached COVID-19 protocols since the start of the pandemic, was not amused.
“I don’t care Bernie, but his lady obviously has no prospects, ridiculous scenes,” Kyrgios tweeted.