Melbourne (AP) – The court crime has been decided: Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic cannot defend his title at the Australian Open and has to leave the country.
The world number one lost his visa question before the Australian federal court. The court ruled that the 34-year-old’s appeal against being refused entry and the annulment of the visa was rejected. The decision was unanimous, according to the announcement by 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.
“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.
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.”
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!”
Djokovic is apparently not considering any further legal action. He respected the court’s decision and will cooperate with the appropriate authorities regarding his departure from Australia, he said. According to a report by the AAP news agency, an appeal to the High Court, Australia’s highest court, would have been possible. The chances of success were slim anyway.
ATP regrets Djokovic’s absence
The men’s tennis organization ATP regretted Djokovic’s final expulsion. The court’s decision was ultimately acceptable – “regardless of how this point was reached, Novak is one of the greatest champions of our sport and his absence from the Australian Open is a loss for the game,” said an ATP -Message.
“We know how turbulent the past few days have been for Novak and how much he wanted to defend his title in Melbourne. We wish him all the best and look forward to seeing him back on the pitch soon,” said the ATP statement further. The ATP strongly recommends that all players get vaccinated.
Entry was denied
Unvaccinated against the coronavirus, Djokovic is a controversial figure in the country that has imposed tough rules since the pandemic began. He wanted to take part in the Australian Open with a medical exemption, where only vaccinated players are allowed to take part. The authorities had refused him 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. A lucky loser will now move up for him – i.e. a player who was actually eliminated in the qualification.
His 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.
Session on YouTube channel of the Federal Supreme Court
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.
The hearing was about, among other things, whether Djokovic was promoting an “anti-vaccination mood” in Australia with his stay. The Australian government gave this as one reason why Immigration Minister Alex Hawke declared Djokovic’s visa invalid again on Friday. The Serb’s lawyers questioned whether Hawke had not considered whether “anti-vaccination sentiment” would also be stoked if the tennis pro’s visa was declared invalid.
As reported by AAP, Djokovic had followed the meeting from his lawyers’ office in Melbourne. He had spent the night before the hearing at the federal court in a deportation hotel. He had already been there for four days when he was initially refused entry. The final negotiation was preceded by a hanging game that lasted for days.
Djokovic said he would now take some time to recover before making any further comments. With his exit, the chances of the title also increase for Olympic champion Alexander Zverev. The Hamburger has decided to conquer his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne.
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