Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic returned to Australia on Tuesday, a year after he was deported for not having a coronavirus vaccine.
It was widely reported in the media that the Serb landed in Adelaide, where he will play in a prep event in early January ahead of the Australian Open from January 16-29.
Djokovic, 35, was deported at the beginning of 2022 after he entered Australia without a coronavirus vaccine, and sought an exception. But the government returned him after ruling that he was a danger to society, given his anti-vaccine stance.
Since then, Australia has reversed the decision to oblige travelers to receive the Corona vaccine, and the government has also canceled an automatic ban on entry to Djokovic for three years.
Australian Open president Craig Tiley told a news conference on Tuesday that he hoped the fans would give Djokovic a warm welcome.
“I have a great deal of faith in the Australian people,” Tiley said.
He added, “We are a very educated sports audience, especially those who come to watch tennis. They love their tennis. They love seeing greatness. They love seeing great athletes, great matches.”
And he added: “And I have great confidence that the fans will react as we hope and that they will respect this.”