The Novak Djokovic affair has found its epilogue. After several days of a long legal battle, the world No. 1 saw his appeal against the cancellation of his visa and his expulsion from the country being rejected by the Australian Federal Court. He will therefore not be able to participate in the Australian Open, which he has won nine times. For his greatest regret.
The Serb tried everything to participate in the first Grand Slam of the season, with the desire to win his 21st Major title. But he came up against the Australian justice, intransigent on his case and which ordered his expulsion. A final decision. “I am extremely disappointed with the Court’s decision to dismiss my appeal after the Immigration Department’s decision to cancel my visa which means I cannot stay in Australia and cannot participate in the Australian Open,” he said in a statement.
He will now collaborate with the authorities to leave Australia, ten days after his arrival which triggered this whole storm. “I respect the decision of the Court and I will cooperate with the competent authorities regarding my departure from the country,” added Novak Djokovic, now eager to turn the page. “It makes me uncomfortable that so much attention has been focused on me over the past few weeks, and I hope we can all focus now on the game and the tournament that I love. I would like to wish the players, tournament officials, staff, volunteers and spectators good luck for this tournament.”
For his part, he will try to recover from this affair which shook the world of tennis for several days. “I will now take some time to rest and recover, before making any further comments,” he said. It now remains to be seen what will be the rest of his season and his career after this episode.
The ATP, for its part, regretted this decision, considering that the absence of Novak Djokovic is “a loss for tennis” while strongly recommending “vaccination to all players.”