The case of the Serbian tennis pro had become a political issue.
(Photo: imago images/AAP)
Melbourne, Belgrade The court crime is decided: Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic cannot defend his title at the Australian Open and has left the country. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke confirmed the departure of the 34-year-old on Twitter, who failed on Sunday to appeal to the Australian Federal Court to have his visa annulled. The court ruled that the 34-year-old’s appeal against being refused entry and the annulment of the visa was rejected.
According to media reports, Djokovic is initially on his way to Dubai. The tennis professional is not vaccinated against the corona virus and wanted to take part in the Australian Open with a medical exemption, in which only vaccinated players are actually allowed to participate.
The decision against Djokovic’s objection 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 am extremely disappointed with the decision,” said Djokovic shortly afterwards in a statement from which several media quoted. 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,” Djokovic said.
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The reactions from Djokovic’s home country of Serbia to the decision were outraged. President Aleksandar Vucic sharply criticized the Australian authorities’ handling of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic. Since arriving in Australia with a medical exemption, the unvaccinated top athlete has been “harassed and tortured,” Vucic told the British BBC on Sunday. He was “treated like a mass murderer”.
The President also told Serbian media that the harassment of Djokovic had reached “unprecedented proportions”. A “witch hunt” had been sparked against him, and the media had created a “lynch mood”. “They wanted to make Novak an example of how the world order works.” But Djokovic could return to Serbia “with his head held high”.
Defeat in lawsuit for Djokovic
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic was furious that the government lawyer in the proceedings before the Federal Court explained that in Serbia less than 50 percent of the population was double vaccinated.
This is an “open lie”, said Brnabic. “We currently have 58 percent fully vaccinated, and 37 percent received the booster.” The numbers that Brnabic gave probably referred to the proportion of vaccinated among the adult population. According to Our World in Data, it was 47 percent of the total population.
Serbian media made similar statements. “The greatest disgrace in the history of sport happened in Melbourne! Shame on you, Australia!” wrote the portal “kurir.rs”. “The law has lost, politics has won.” The portal “informer.rs” was “shaken like never before”.
Australian PM: ‘Strong borders are essential’
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, on the other hand, welcomed the decision: “Now is the time to continue with the Australian Open and enjoy the tennis summer again,” wrote the Prime Minister on Facebook on Sunday. 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.”
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.
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.
Great interest in hearing
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.
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 “anti-vaccination sentiment” would also be stoked if the tennis pro’s visa was voided.
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.
More: All developments in the corona pandemic in the news blog.