Is this the end of this incredible soap opera? In all likelihood, world tennis number one Novak Djokovic is set to drop his participation in the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the season to be held from Monday in Melbourne. Blame it on the cancellation of his visa by the authorities, due to his lack of vaccination against Covid-19. “Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and rightly want the result of these sacrifices to be protected,” said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Only a new twist could call into question this fate, tragic for “Nole”. Because this decision would be accompanied, if it is final, of a ban on entry into the country for three years, except in certain exceptional circumstances. A turning point in the career of the 34-year-old Serb. Djokovic could thus put aside his future participations in this same tournament, which he has already won nine times, a record. More broadly, his non-vaccination raises the question of his future participations in the three other Grand Slam tournaments of the season, Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the US Open, he who still dreams of overtaking his rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the race for supreme titles, with the obtaining of a 21st Grand Slam title … A look back at an extraordinary affair in five acts.
- January 4: Djokovic obtains a waiver to participate in the Australian Open
Novak Djokovic has never communicated on his vaccination status. But his vaccine skepticism is far from a secret. It is in this context that on January 4, the tennis player announced on social networks that he had obtained a “derogation” to participate in the Australian Open. Usually, participants must provide a vaccination certificate or medical exemption issued by a panel of independent experts.
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Days earlier, on December 31, SotoTennis academy tweeted a video of Djokovic training in Marbella, Spain. January 2, the local newspaper Newspaper photography training, still in Marbella. In perfect health.
- January 5-6: Serbian arrives in Australia, but his visa is canceled for the first time
Novak Djokovic arrives on the evening of January 5 at Melbourne Airport. Quickly, he finds himself blocked there for not having completed the correct form for the visa requested in order to enter the country. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison demands that the Serbian provide proof that the “medical waiver” he enjoys to participate in the tournament is justified, failing which he will be sent “home by the first plane”. The next day, Novak Djokovic lodged an appeal against this annulment and his expulsion. He is placed in a detention center, a hotel, while waiting for his situation to be released.
- January 8: the Djokovic clan strikes back
Surprise, January 8. So far discreet about her medical exemption, Novak Djokovic’s lawyers say she was obtained due to a positive screening on December 16, two days after attending a basketball game in Belgrade. But this information throws a little more trouble on his situation. Before having obtained the result, the player attends the launch of a stamp with his effigy.
Especially, on December 17, the Serbian participates in a meeting with young tennis players. He claims to have carried out a second antigen test, also negative, beforehand. “I had no symptoms, I felt good and I had not received the notification of the positive PCR before the end of this event,” he said in a statement posted on Instagram on January 12.
Of which act. Still, on December 18, still in Belgrade, he carried out an interview and a photo shoot with the French sports daily. The team. He knows at this moment that he is positive for Covid. “I felt obligated (…) because I did not want to let down the journalist, but I made sure to respect social distancing and to wear a mask, except when my photo portrait was done”, he says . The Serb admits “an error of judgment” and admits that he “should have postponed this engagement.”
- January 10-14: release of “Novax” and start of a long wait
On January 10, an Australian judge ordered Djokovic’s immediate release. For him, if the authorities had given him time, he “could have consulted other people and presented arguments to explain why his visa should not be canceled”. In a press conference held by the Djokovic clan, the tennis player’s mother said that her son “suffered torture” during his detention. “Novak has been deprived of his ‘human rights’, including being forbidden to contact his friends, his team or his lawyers, supports his father. The Australian government concedes that the way in which this interview was conducted was not “reasonable”. A government lawyer warns, however, that the government can still decide to deport him.
Novak Djokovic, considered a “modern-day Spartacus”, and become the hero of antivax around the world, leaves his detention center and immediately returns to training. Meanwhile, her case gets a little more complicated. It appears that he did not indicate in the document submitted on his arrival in Australia his trip to Spain, made in the fourteen days preceding his arrival in Melbourne, which could justify his deportation. Doubts also remain on the date of his positive Covid-19 test, which Novak sweeps on his Instagram account.
The Australian Open draw designates Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (78th) as Djokovic’s opponent in the first round. Obviously, if he is able to participate.
- January 14: Australian government cancels new “Djoker” visa
Patatras! Djokovic’s visa is canceled a second time this Friday. A decision taken “on grounds of health and public order”, explains the Minister of Immigration Alex Hawke in a press release. It implies that the Serbian player will be banned from entering the country for three years, except under certain circumstances.
The end of the story ? Not quite. The Australian authorities nevertheless agree to postpone the expulsion of Novak Djokovic until justice has ruled on his case. The government, on the other hand, wants the Serb to be able to come out of detention only to attend, in the offices of his lawyers and in safe custody, the online court hearings concerning his case.
Latest twist to date: the judge of the Australian state of Victoria responsible for examining Novak Djokovic’s appeal against this second cancellation of his visa announced on Friday that he was stepping down in favor of Australian federal justice, which could delay the outcome of the case.
The soap opera probably still has a few episodes ahead of it.
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