When the world No. 1 was supposed to play at the Australian Open on Monday nite, the defending champion was hoping to win his 21st men’s Grand Slam title.
It was an Emirates flight that took the tennis star from Australia to Dubai after he lost his legal fight against having his visa revoked for the second time.
Earlier in the day, three Federal Court judges agreed that Djokovic’s application to overturn the immigration minister’s decision to cancel his visa was denied, but they didn’t give any reason for their decision.
This year’s first tennis grand slam was overshadowed by a high-profile, off-court fight between one of tennis’s biggest stars and Australia’s government and public health officials, which was very, public.
In a statement, Djokovic said he was “extremely disappointed” by the decision and that he would work with the government to get out of the country.
As the statement said, “I am not happy that the focus of the last few weeks has been on me.” I hope that everyone can now turn their attention to the game and tournament that I love.
To everyone who will be at the tournament: “I’d like to say that I hope everyone has a great time!”
As soon as Djokovic arrives in Dubai, we don’t know where the tennis player will go next. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that she was excited to see the country’s star return to Serbia.
“I think the decision is very bad. I think it shows how the rule of law doesn’t work in other countries, or how it does work, “told Beta News Agency in Belgrade that Brnabic said that in a phone interview.
Seeing Djokovic in his home country, Serbia, is something I’m excited about. We’ll go thru this together and support him as he goes thru this hard time.
On the other hand, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke welcomed the court’s decision and said that the government is going to keep strong border policies.
In the past, Australia has had some of the strictest border policies in the world to keep COVID-19 out. Hawke said Australia was “safe” during the pandemic because of these rules. They were also important for maintaining Australia’s “social cohesion,” he said.
It said that “Australians have made a lot of sacrifices to get to this point.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the same thing in a statement to the press.
“People in the public interest were the reason this event was canceled. It was for health and safety reasons, as well as for good order reasons. I think it’s great that we’re going to keep our borders strong and keep people safe, “he said.
“My thanks go out to the court and everyone else who has been patient with us as we have worked to solve this problem. It’s time to start the Australian Open and get back to having fun with tennis over the summer. ”
Even tho COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Australia, the country has a high rate of vaccination and its death toll from COVID-19 is still low compared to other places.
During the entire COVID-19 pandemic, there have been more than 1 million cases in the country. More than half of those cases were in the last two weeks.
What happened in court?
At a Federal Court hearing on Sunday, Hawkesaid Djokovic’s decision to cancel his visa was “unreasonable.”
On three separate grounds, the tennis star, 34, argued that the immigration minister didn’t take into account the consequences of canceling his visa.
Djokovic’s lawyer, Nick Wood, said Hawke’s decision was “irrational” because the minister didn’t think about the fact that the act itself could make anti-vaxxers more angry, which is what the government wanted to avoid.
However, the lawyer for Hawke told him that under Australia’s Migration Law, the minister didn’t have to show that Djokovic was a risk to public health, just that he “might” be.
He said that Djokovic’s anti-vaccination beliefs could be seen by the fact that he didn’t get vaccinated before he came to Australia.
He said that the perception that Novak Djokovic didn’t want to get vaccinated could lead to anti-vaxxers in the country, and that the tennis star’s apparent disregard for COVID-19 rules meant there was a risk that other people would do the same.
People who run tennis in Australia say they “respect” the Federal Court’s decision about Novak Djokovic’s visa. Tennis Australia, which runs the Australian Open tournament and is the national governing body for tennis, says that.
In the draw, Djokovic has been replaced in the draw by Italian Salvatore Caruso, who will play Serbian player Miomir Kecmanovi in the first round of the match.
The ATP said this is the end of a “deeply regrettable” series of events. They said that Djokovic’s absence from the Australian Open was “a loss for the game.”
