The Australian Open starts on January 17th. In the spotlight even before the tournament: Novak Djokovic. The world number one has massive problems entering Australia. It’s about his vaccination status.
There was no end to the down under game. Even when morning dawned in Australia, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic was still stuck at Melbourne Airport with the wrong visa – allegedly isolated and without permission to use his cell phone.
“Not exactly the most common trip,” wrote his visibly tired trainer Goran Ivanisevic on Instagram from the waiting area. A rejection appeared more likely on Wednesday evening German time than the onward journey to the Australian Open.
Telephone conversation with the President
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reacted to the situation on Wednesday evening and sided with his compatriot. “I had a phone conversation with him and told him that all of Serbia is with him,” wrote Vucic on Instagram.
He continued: “Our authorities will take all measures to stop the harassment of the best tennis player in the world in the shortest possible time. In accordance with all norms of international law, Serbia will fight for Novak Djokovic, for justice and truth.”
Medial outcry about special permits
Before Djokovic had even set foot on the fifth continent, the new “villain” was met with sheer anger. “Sick hypocrisy”, a “resounding slap in the face” and an “insult to every Australian” – the media outcry about the exemption is enormous.
As the newspaper “The Age” reported, Djokovic tried to enter with a visa that does not allow medical exemptions for unvaccinated people. But with just such a permit, the defending champion wants to go on the hunt for records at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year (from January 17th). And since the government of the state of Victoria declined support to clarify the problem more quickly, as Sport Minister Jaala Pulford made clear on Twitter, Djokovic’s entry was delayed.
The start of the obviously unvaccinated number one in the world at the Australian Open has long since grown into a political issue at the highest level down under. Even Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison publicly expressed doubts about the basis for the medical exemption. “If this evidence is not enough, then he will be treated no differently than everyone else and will be on the next plane home,” said the head of government at a press conference on Wednesday.
Tournament director: “No special treatment for Novak”
He spoke from the soul of his compatriots, who had to accept immense hardships even for locals during the corona pandemic due to numerous strict lockdowns and strict entry regulations. “For Novak Djokovic there should be no special regulations at all. None at all,” said Morrison – and thus also brought Craig Tiley, tournament director of the Australian Open, into an explanation problem.
“Nobody was particularly favored, there was no special treatment for Novak,” defended Tiley. After all, two medical expert committees independent from the state of Victoria and Tennis Australia, unaware of the name, granted the world number one special permission to start at the Australian Open. Only fully vaccinated professionals are allowed to serve there without special permission.
And yet the tournament boss Djokovic asked to reveal the background. “It would be very helpful if Novak explained the basis on which he applied for and received the waiver,” said Tiley.
The criteria for such a special permit are extremely strict, so that actually only seriously ill people are exempted from the compulsory vaccination – for example because of heart problems or serious operations in the recent past. A corona infection in the past six months also entitles you to a medical exemption.
Vaccination status puzzles
However, only one infection from Djokovic from summer 2020 is known to the public. The 34-year-old, who wants to crown himself the sole Grand Slam record champion in Melbourne, never published his vaccination status.
The lack of understanding among the Australian population – by the way, spectators are only allowed to enter the stadiums fully vaccinated – about the exception for the best tennis player in the world is already huge, the look at the gazettes gave a good picture of the mood. “Rules are rules – unless you’re rich and famous like Djokovic,” wrote The Age newspaper.
Harsh criticism from some Australian media
The “Courier Mail” headlined “You must be Djoking” (translated: This is supposed to be a joke), and the “Canberra Times” described the emotional state of the Australians: “Horrified, maybe. Angry, yes. Frustrated, disappointed, disgusted, with the feeling that we’ve all just received a resounding slap in the face. “
Former Australian tennis pro Sam Groth spoke of “sick hypocrisy” in a column for “Herald Sun”. Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open is “an insult to every Australian who has gone through hell because of COVID”.
And “The West Australian” has already given Djokovic a cinematic role in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. “The Djoker,” commented the paper, “has turned into the Joker and shamelessly assigned himself the role of the villain.”
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