Andy Murray: Novak Djokovic absence bad, but should 'accept consquences'

As both tennis stars returned to the court in Dubai, Andy Murray has expressed his view on Novak Djokovic’s anti-vaccine status and says that he must ‘accept the consequences’ for his decision.

Djokovic had not stepped on a tennis court officially for 80 days and on his return unsurprisingly dispatched Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-3 on his stint in Dubai.

He will now face Russian player Karen Khachanov as they approach the ‘business end’ of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The Serbian’s bid to win the 2022 Australian Open and a record 21st Grand Slam title failed before it could start when he was pulled out of the competition and deported from the country.

The Australian government revoked his visa on “health and good order” grounds once the case was launched.

Despite Murray’s stern position that the rules are the rules and that Novak’s removal was the correct decision, he has conveyed his sympathy and has said that his absence is bad for tennis as a sport.

“There are consequences to the decisions he’s made. He obviously has to accept that,” Murray began, per The Sun.

“But I also didn’t like seeing him in the situation that he was in Australia as someone that I respect, have known since I was a child. I didn’t like seeing that. 

It is evident that both players have an immense amount of respect for each other and it has even been reports of a ‘friendly’ atmosphere in the lead up to the Australian Open and Djokovic revealed a series of interactions between himself and the Scotsman during his quarantine period in Australia last month.

In an interview following the drama, he openly admitted that he would be willing to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon if either mandated vaccinated status for player entry.

His lack of