Sunday 16 January 2022
Closing point behind drama
Djokovic leaves Australia after court defeat
The tug of war over the visa of the unvaccinated Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic for the Australian Open is over: the 34-year-old is leaving the country after a ruling by the Australian Federal Court, the tournament will take place without him.
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has left Australia, according to Immigration Minister Alex Hawke. Accordingly, the world number one left local time on Sunday evening after the federal court had rejected Djokovic’s appeal against his refused entry and the cancellation of the visa. The decision was unanimous, according to the announcement by the three judges James Allsop, Anthony Besanko and David O’Callaghan. The reason should be given on Monday, the first day of the Australian Open tournament, at the earliest. Djokovic had to pay the costs of the procedure. The verdict is the final twist in the entry story, which has attracted international interest far beyond the tennis scene for almost two weeks.
“I am extremely disappointed with the decision,” said Djokovic in a statement shortly afterwards. “I’m uncomfortable that I’ve been the focus for the past few weeks and I hope we can all focus on the game and the tournament I love,” said Djokovic. The reactions from Djokovic’s home country of Serbia to the decision were outraged. “The biggest disgrace in the history of sport happened in Melbourne! Shame on you, Australia!” wrote the “kurir.rs” portal. “The law has lost, politics has won.” The portal “informer.rs” headlined: “Shaken like never before!”
Immigration Secretary Hawke also spoke up. “I welcome today’s unanimous decision by the Australian Federal Court upholding my decision to exercise my authority under the Migration Act and revoke Mr Novak Djokovic’s visa in the public interest,” he wrote in one Statement on Twitter. He can confirm “that Mr Djokovic has now left Australia”. Australia’s strict border rules have kept the country safe during the pandemic and supported “social cohesion”, which is becoming stronger despite the pandemic. “Australia has made great sacrifices” to get to this point.
Djokovic is apparently not considering any further legal action. He respected the court’s decision and will cooperate with the appropriate authorities regarding his departure from Australia, he said. According to a report by the AAP news agency, an appeal to the High Court, Australia’s highest court, would have been possible. The chances of success were slim anyway.
Record hunt thus interrupted
Unvaccinated against the coronavirus, Djokovic is a controversial figure in the country that has imposed tough rules since the pandemic began. He wanted to take part in the Australian Open with a medical exemption, where only vaccinated players are allowed to take part. The authorities had refused him entry last week. An initial court decision on Monday was in his favour, Djokovic then continued preparing for the Australian Open.
The 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner has already won the first Grand Slam tournament of the season nine times and most recently triumphed three years in a row. He is the record champion of the event. On Monday evening, the top seed should play his first round game against his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic. A lucky loser will now move up for him – i.e. a player who was actually eliminated in the qualification: the Italian Salvatore Caruso.
Djokovic’s goal was to become the sole record holder ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with the tenth Australian Open and a total of 21 titles in a Grand Slam tournament. Djokovic is currently sharing this record with his rivals from Switzerland and Spain. All three have won 20 titles in each of the four major tournaments.
Zverev could benefit
The hearing before the federal court began at 9:30 a.m. local time on Sunday morning. Around five hours later, the three judges retired for the verdict before they announced the decision in the early evening. In the meantime, more than 85,000 people watched the decisive session on the Federal Supreme Court’s YouTube channel. The hearing was about, among other things, whether Djokovic was promoting an “anti-vaccination mood” in Australia with his stay. The Australian government gave this as one of the reasons why Immigration Minister Hawke declared Djokovic’s visa invalid again on Friday. The Serb’s lawyers questioned whether Hawke had not considered whether “anti-vaccination sentiment” would also be stoked if the tennis pro’s visa was declared invalid.
As reported by AAP, Djokovic had followed the meeting from his lawyers’ office in Melbourne. He had spent the night before the hearing at the federal court in a deportation hotel. He had already been there for four days when he was initially refused entry. The final negotiation was preceded by a hanging game that lasted for days. Djokovic said he would now take some time to recover before making any further comments. With his exit, the chances of the title also increase for Olympic champion Alexander Zverev. The Hamburger has decided to conquer his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne.