Dhe tennis superstar Novak Djokovic After his visa for Australia has been revoked, he now has to wait for his departure in a quarantine hotel in the Carlton district of Melbourne. TV pictures showed the Serbian arriving at the Park Hotel after his entry permit was canceled due to a lack of evidence for an exemption from compulsory vaccination. Djokovic wants to apply for an injunction against the decision, people familiar with the matter from the Australian Open tell the Archyde.com news agency.
Shortly after landing in Melbourne, the farce about Djokovic took a sudden turn. Despite his controversial medical exemption for the start at the Australian Open, the border guards refused entry to the probably unvaccinated Serb because his visa was obviously invalid. A few hours later, the Australian government canceled Djokovic’s visa, the Australian news agency AAP reported on Wednesday evening. The world number one tennis player has been told he will have to leave Australia this Thursday.
The Australian Border Guard issued a statement that night stating that Djokovic had failed to provide adequate evidence to meet entry requirements and that “the visa was subsequently canceled”. Australian media reported, however, that Djokovic’s team had applied for the wrong visa.
Detained in the airport
Djokovic was detained at a Melbourne airport for several hours after arriving in Australia on Wednesday after border guards raised concerns about the entry visa. According to the media, the documents submitted by Djokovic did not provide for medical exemptions for unvaccinated people. The authorities of the Australian state of Victoria contacted therefore refused to support him.
Djokovic’s father was deeply indignant. “It’s embarrassing. Deportation, ”Srdjan Djokovic told the Serbian newspaper Blic. “I can’t talk to my son, they portray him as a criminal. I have no words for everything they did to him.”
From late evening local time, Novak Djokovic was stuck, and even Serbia’s president personally stood up for him in the end. “I had a phone conversation with Novak and told him that all of Serbia is with him,” wrote Aleksandar Vucic on Instagram. “Our authorities will take all measures to stop the harassment of the best tennis player in the world in the shortest possible time.” This too: in vain.
A “slap in the face for all Australians”
Even before the 34-year-old arrived in Australia, a wave of indignation had built up in the host country of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. The exception permit for Djokovic caused “anger and confusion”, as the broadcaster ABC called it. Other comments ranged from “slap in the face for all Australians” to “slap in the face for millions of Australians”. Tournament director Craig Tiley defended the controversial decision, but asked the 20-time Grand Slam winner to give his reasons.
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