Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts as he plays against Spain's Rafael Nadal during their men's final tennis match at the Philippe Chatrier court on Day 15 of The Roland Garros 2020 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on October 11, 2020. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic has been denied entry in Australia ahead of Australian Open 2022
Novak Djokovic’s dream of fighting for a 10th Australian Open championship has been withheld until the next year as the Serbian was denied entry to Australia. Djokovic was said to have exemption permission as he wasn’t vaccinated. It was reported that he will also be allowed to play at the Australian Open.
However, Australia’s border security did not accept the exemption and claimed that the Serbian failed to meet the requirements. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison also released a statement and took to Twitter to say:
“Mr Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled. Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules. Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant.”
Australia has managed to do a really good job over the past couple of years to contain the Covid-19 virus and they don’t intend on breaking the norms for anyone. It is reported that Djokovic was held for nearly eight hours in the airport. Before being transported to a detention facility.
Novak Djokovic has been quite sceptical about getting vaccinated and has also voiced his opinion in the past. However, over the past few months, Djokovic has failed to comment about his vaccination status and has chosen to keep it private.
Djokovic could have also challenged for his 21 Grand Slam title at Australian open had it not been for his vaccination status. It will be interesting to see what happens in the Djokovic saga next as the Serbian currently faces deportation from Australia.
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