Game, set and match: Novak Djokovic can definitively draw a line by participating in Australian Open | Tennis

The Serb’s case has been holding the sports world in its grip for days. Djokovic was stopped at the airport on arrival in Melbourne last week. He would have insufficient evidence as to why he had received a medical exemption to enter Australia without a corona vaccine.

The Serb, the record holder with nine overall victories in Melbourne, did not agree with this decision and went to court. Judge Anthony Kelly decided on Monday that Djokovic could stay in Australia after all. In the days that followed, it was revealed that someone from Djokovic’s team had entered in the travel documents that he had not traveled in the two weeks prior to his trip to Melbourne. However, this turned out not to be the truth. Djokovic was just before his trip to Down Under still in Marbella. The 34-year-old tennis player apologized for this.

Novak Djokovic will not play in Melbourne this year.

Ⓒ HH/ANP

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke decided on Friday after days of deliberation to make use of his authority and revoke Djokovic’s visa. “This government is doing everything it can to protect our borders, especially in light of the pandemic,” Hawke wrote.

Jail

Djokovic was furious and decided to appeal his sentence for the second time. He was allowed to remain in the country until the verdict, but in detention. Czech tennis star Renata Voracova, who, like the Serb, was previously held in the quarantine hotel because of visa problems, felt ‘like in a prison’ in the detention center.

Now that his appeal has been rejected, he can officially not participate in the first grand slam tournament of the year. Djokovic would open the hunt for his 21st Grand Slam title in Melbourne. If he had succeeded, he would make history. Never before has a tennis player been 21 times the best in a grand slam tournament in his career. Now he is stuck on 20 Grand Slam titles, as many as his eternal rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.