Melbourne (AP) – Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has left Australia.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke confirmed the departure of the 34-year-old on Twitter, who had failed in his appeal to the Australian Federal Court to have his visa annulled.
According to media reports, Djokovic is initially on his way to Dubai. The tennis pro is not vaccinated against the corona virus and wanted to take part in the Australian Open with a medical exemption, where only vaccinated players are allowed to attend.
The decision of the court was unanimous, it said in the announcement of the three judges James Allsop, Anthony Besanko and David O’Callaghan. The reason should be given on Monday, the first day of the Australian Open tournament, at the earliest. Djokovic had to pay the costs of the procedure.
Prime Minister Morrison welcomes court decision
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison welcomed the court’s decision. “Now it’s time to continue with the Australian Open and enjoy the summer of tennis again,” wrote the Prime Minister on Facebook.
The decision was made for reasons of “health, safety and order,” Morrison wrote. It was done “in the public interest”. “Strong borders are fundamental to the Australian way of life – as is the rule of law.”
“I’m extremely disappointed with the decision,” said Djokovic shortly afterwards in a statement quoted by several media. The verdict is the final twist in the entry story, which has attracted international interest far beyond the tennis scene for almost two weeks. “I’m uncomfortable that I’ve been the focus for the past few weeks and I hope we can all focus on the game and the tournament I love,” said Djokovic.
Angry reactions from Serbia
The reactions from Djokovic’s home country of Serbia to the decision were outraged. “The biggest disgrace in the history of sport happened in Melbourne! Shame on you, Australia!” wrote the “kurir.rs” portal. “The law has lost, politics has won.” The portal “informer.rs” headlined: “Shaken like never before!”
The authorities had refused Djokovic entry last week. An initial court decision on Monday was in his favour, Djokovic then continued preparing for the Australian Open.
The 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner has already won the first Grand Slam tournament of the season nine times and most recently triumphed three years in a row. He is the record champion of the event. On Monday evening, the top seed should play his first round game against his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic. The Italian Salvatore Caruso has now replaced him as a lucky loser.
Djokovic’s goal was to become the sole record holder ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with the tenth Australian Open and a total of 21 titles in a Grand Slam tournament. Djokovic is currently sharing this record with his rivals from Switzerland and Spain. All three have won 20 titles in each of the four major tournaments.
The hearing before the federal court began at 9:30 a.m. local time on Sunday morning. Around five hours later, the three judges retired for the verdict before they announced the decision in the early evening. In the meantime, more than 85,000 people watched the decisive session on the Federal Supreme Court’s YouTube channel.
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