Serbian professionals swear revenge
Deported Djokovic disappears in Belgrade
01/17/2022, 3:55 p.m
The temporary end of the Djokovic saga is pretty unspectacular. Tennis star expelled from Australia lands in Belgrade and disappears without further comment. His Serbian compatriots at the Australian Open swear “revenge” for the expulsion.
After the turbulent days in the bright spotlight, Novak Djokovic disappeared unnoticed through a side exit. No sooner had the fallen tennis hero landed at Nikola Tesla Airport in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, than he was swiftly smuggled past the waiting reporters. Even the few fans who had posted themselves with flags and banners in front of the terminal did not see their beloved darling.
On the first day of the Australian Open in Melbourne, there was great relief that after the expulsion of the world number one, the focus was back on sport instead of paragraphs. “I’m pretty fed up,” said Rafael Nadal when asked about the Djokovic saga, which overlaid all sporting events before the start of the tournament on Monday. The topic got “so annoying at some point,” said Andrea Petkovic after her defeat in the first round.
Of course, the topic will not go away anytime soon, because another problem has arisen for Djokovic. As the AFP news agency reported on Monday, citing government circles, all athletes who want to take part in competitions in France will have to be vaccinated in the future. Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said last week that exceptions could apply to events like the French Open, but now the opposite seems possible.
“The Greatest Of All Time”
In the meantime, Djokovic can continue to be sure of the moral support of his compatriots. Miomir Kecmanovic, against whom the designated number one should have played on Monday in the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, emphasized: He and all other Serbs in the tournament had planned to “do everything to avenge Djokovic” and “to him proudly do”. Kecmanovic took a first step by beating Salvatore Caruso 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. Dusan Lajovic after his victory displayed a Serbian flag with a Djokovic picture and the words: “Like it or not, the greatest of all time.”
Djokovic was already on his way home. With a mask on his face, two bags in his hands and still great disappointment in his clothes, the 34-year-old Serb first climbed out of the plane during a stopover in Dubai and then traveled on. He first wants to find some peace in Belgrade, but after his expulsion he has to watch the fight for the trophy, which he has already won nine times, from a distance, if he wants to.
Boris Becker therefore claims that “the new tournament winner may have a bad aftertaste because he doesn’t have to beat the best,” so clearly, he added to Eurosport, “you have to see that” because: The upper part of the tournament tableau is now significantly weaker. Becker is close to Djokovic as his ex-coach, but also says: “We should focus on the players who are there. As Rafael Nadal rightly said, no player is bigger than the tournament.”
Cautious reactions in Belgrade
Nadal added on Monday that justice had prevailed, but Djokovic was not the sole culprit for the “chaos” that overlaid the Australian Open before the kick-off. Former world number one Naomi Osaka was far less emotional after her smooth 6: 3, 6: 3 first round win over Colombian Camila Osorio. “I didn’t watch the news too often,” said the 24-year-old unperturbed.
For Djokovic there is at least a glimmer of hope for his future at the Australian Open. After the visa was revoked, he would not be allowed to enter Down Under for the next three years, according to the applicable regulations, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a radio interview: “Under the right circumstances” an earlier return is possible, which would then become a “given point in time” are considered.
Politicians in Serbia were rather cautious about Djokovic’s arrival. At first, top politicians did not pose with him. Goran Vezic, the Vice Mayor of Belgrade, at least announced that Djokovic will receive the Belgrade City Award. The illumination of an office tower on the banks of the Sava, which can be seen from afar, also went to the account of the capital’s administration. Primed with the Serbian national colors of red, blue and white, the lettering “Nole, you are the pride of Serbia” ran across the building. Nole is a pet form of the given name Novak.
Vaccination concerns in Serbia
The Serbian government under the powerful President Aleksandar Vucic has a rather opportunistic approach to the tennis idol, who actually resides in Monaco. As long as Djokovic was housed in the spartan deportation hotel in Melbourne and exposed to the alleged arbitrariness of Australian authorities, he was of use to the right-wing populist leadership in Belgrade. Because for a long time there has not been an issue of global attention so well suited to rehashing the eternal conspiracy narrative of the misunderstood and wrongly punished Serbs. Vucic, other government politicians and Djokovic’s family in Belgrade never tired of accusing Australians of torturing and bullying the tennis star because he is a Serb.
And because Serbia is always fighting against global evil and for the oppressed of this world. Virtually the same conspiracy narrative underpinned the wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. They came from Serbia because the ruler at the time, Slobodan Milosevic, wanted to incorporate large parts of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina into a new “Greater Serbia” when Yugoslavia collapsed. In Serbia itself, however, one was only the victim.
As a young politician, Vucic was Minister of Information in the Milosevic government and notorious for his suppression of critical media. Today he presents himself as a pragmatically transformed national conservative. Critics accuse him of continuing to pursue the goals of the Milosevic era under changed conditions. Djokovic is not only of use to him in his own country. For reasons of state policy and under pressure from Serbian health experts, his government is pursuing a clear line in favor of vaccination against Corona. Despite this, only 47 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. Insofar as Djokovic is seen as an icon by opponents of vaccination, the enthusiasm of the Belgrade leadership for him is limited.