Novak Djokovic rejected, he will not play the Australian Open

The news comes when in Italy it’s just past 9 pm, 7 am in Australia. According to the British Times, “Novak Djokovic was denied entry to Australia after a glaring misunderstanding with his visa application”. Thus, after weeks of controversy due to the no-vax position of the Serbian tennis player number 1 in the world, the possibility of seeing the nine-time winner and reigning champion at the next Australian Open fades.

Interrogation night

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Djokovic had landed in Tullamarine – Melbourne’s international airport – last night at 11.30pm local time, 1.30pm Italian time. Immediately the tennis player, together with his staff, was stopped at customs for a problem related to the passport. Always the Times: “A member of his team made a mistake in applying for a visa subclass that does not apply to those who have received medical exemptions from a Covid-19 vaccine.” Hence the arrest, which soon turned into an interrogation that lasted over five hours, three of which without his phone and in any case guarded at all times by two policemen. So much so as to unleash the anger of the player’s father, who let himself go in the evening: “If they don’t free him within half an hour, let’s go out onto the street.”

Political case

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Political stances were chasing each other all day, from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (“Provide vaccine evidence or come home”) to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who got in touch with the Serbian tennis player in the evening. , assuring him that “Serbia will fight for him, for justice and truth”.