Political agenda behind Novak Djokovic’s demands

Let’s call it the John Setka technique. You nail your colours to the mast with a list of the most radical demands, sure in the knowledge that a healthy slice of the membership will see you as their true champion. The bloke who is genuinely fighting for your interests without fear or favour.

It worked for Setka as a construction union leader. Now Novak Djokovic is hoping it will work for him as a representative of the downtrodden masses of international tennis.

Late on Sunday, the Djoker wrote to Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley with a list of demands on behalf of the 70-odd players in hard lockdown because they shared a charter flight with someone who tested positive.

The Djoker’s demands start reasonable and drift inexorably towards the bizarre:

• Fitness and training material in all rooms.

• Better food for elite athletes.

• Reduce the days of isolation for players in hard isolation and carry out more tests to confirm they are negative.

• Permission to visit your coach or physical trainer, as long as both have passed the tests.

• Grant both the player and his/her coach permission to be on the same floor of the hotel.

And my favourite …

• Move as many players as possible to private houses with a tennis court to facilitate training.

The answer to all of these demands is no, no, no, no, no and no. And that should be the end of it.

Novak Djokovic training in his quarantine hotel. Picture: Brenton Edwards.

But there is a fair chance it won’t be because the Djoker has a political agenda. Just days before the last US Open, the Djoker got restless and quit the ATP Player Council to form the breakaway Professional Tennis Players Association with Canada’s Vasek Pospisil.

It was not immediately clear why the Djoker thought a breakaway organisation was necessary or what he hoped to achieve, apart from some vague pronouncements about conflict of interest in the ATP. He argued that the PTPA would represent players’ interest and could coexist with the ATP as the sport’s governing body. “As players we want to have our own organisation and association that is 100 per cent ours,” he said.

But so far, the rebellion hasn’t really worked. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two of the most respected players in the game, have condemned it and appealed for unity. The PTPA has struggled to recruit members and reports late last year suggested Djokovic and Pospisil had applied to rejoin the ATP Player Council.

But now he clearly sees an opportunity to establish himself as the champion of poor, put-upon athletes forced to hang out for a couple of weeks in luxury hotel rooms before they get to line their pockets playing in a tennis tournament.

Chances are his rallying call to the oppressed will again fall on deaf ears as growing numbers of players begin to realise that complaining about their lot when thousands of Australians are trapped overseas and close to 160,000 Victorians can’t even get back into their state is a bad look.

Take French star Alize Cornet. On Sunday she was carping about what a rough deal she was getting. “Weeks and weeks of practice and hard work going to waste for one person positive to COVID in a 3/4 empty plane. Sorry but this is insane,” she tweeted.

By Monday she had issued a grovelling apology.

After my last (deleted) tweet I feel like I need to apologize to you Australian people. Your reaction to this tactless comment made me realize what you've been through last year & how much you suffered. I guess I feel a bit anxious about all this & I better have shut my mouth
1/2

— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) January 17, 2021

“After my last (deleted) tweet I feel like I need to apologise to you Australian people,” she wrote. “I guess I feel a bit anxious about all this & I better have shut my mouth.”

Good advice. The Djoker should take note.