Novak Djokovic's biggest rival Rafael Nadal effectively blamed him for his Australian deportation saga, saying that actions have consequences

• Rafael Nadal has criticized Novak Djokovic for his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
• Nadal effectively blamed Djokovic for his predicament in Australia, saying he must face "consequences."

Rafael Nadal has criticized Novak Djokovic's refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19, insisting the Serbian must now face the consequences of his actions after he was ordered to fly home from Australia.

Djokovic had travelled to Melbourne on Wednesday to compete in the Australian Open under the impression that he had haven been given a medical exemption which would allow him to compete without being vaccinated against COVID.

However, upon landing in Australia, an issue with his visa meant that his medical exemption was not sufficient for him to be allowed into the country.

He is now being held at a quarantine hotel in the center of Melbourne's Carlton neighbourhood while he awaits deportation, which his legal team is appealing.

Asked about the situation, Nadal appeared to have no sympathy for his long-time rival.

"It seems a rough situation, but at the end of the day the only thing that I can say is we have been going through very challenging times and a lot of families have been suffering a lot during the last two years with the pandemic," the Spaniard told reporters.

Speaking after his victory over Ricardas Berankis at the Melbourne Summer Set tournament on Thursday, Nadal went on: "I mean, it's normal that the people here in Australia get very frustrated with the case because they have been going through a lot of very hard lockdowns and a lot of people were not able to come back home."

Australia has spent much of the last 22 months going in and out of strict lockdowns, with stay at home orders, quarantine, and curfews being rolled out across the country.

While 91.6% of Australia's over-16 population is now fully vaccinated against COVID, many people still cannot travel between states or globally because of the current measures.

"From my point of view, that's the only thing that I can say is I believe in what the people who knows about medicine says, and if the people says that we need to get vaccinated, we need to get the vaccine," continued Nadal.

"I went through COVID. I have been vaccinated twice. If you do this you don't have any problem to play here. That's the only clear thing."

"He makes his own decision. Everyone is free to take their own decisions, but then there are some consequences."

Asked if he would encourage Djokovic to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Nadal refused to do so, but said: "A lot of people have been dying for two years, my feeling is the vaccine is the only way to stop this pandemic."

When he was asked if he felt sympathy for Djokovic, Nadal added: "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 has made his own decision."

As of Thursday, Djokovic is being held at The Park Hotel in Melbourne.

The facility has been used by the Australian government to detain refugees and asylum-seekers, many who have been held for years, while awaiting their visas to be approved, according to Reuters.

Detainees at the hotel have previously complained of being served food replete with mold and maggots.