DJOKOVIC. Expelled from Australia after two weeks of a major legal battle, world number one Novak Djokovic is in turmoil and could see his career on hold.
[Mis à jour le 17 janvier à 8h26] After a long battle, Serbian Novak Djokovic was finally expelled from Australia on Sunday January 16. The end or rather the beginning of a turbulent period for the world number 1. His absence from the Australian Open, which began on Monday January 17, could already cost him the place of world tennis leader if Medvedev or Zverev wins the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. In search of the record of Grand Slam victories, the Serb also sees the latter moving away after his compulsory withdrawal (he has 20 like Nadal and Federer). But beyond Australia, the vaccination coverage chosen by Novak Djokovic could put his career on hold. If France indicates working with the French authorities with a view to welcoming non-vaccinated foreign players, this will a priori not be the case if the pandemic situation does not improve. At present, Wimbledon is not among the sporting events with exemptions and if the US Open starts tomorrow it would require a full vaccination regimen to be able to enter the United States.
While his vaccination status had never been officially revealed to the general public, the affair which shook the Serb in Australia highlighted his non-vaccination against Covid-19. The world tennis star is indeed not vaccinated against the coronavirus and was able to travel to Australia due to a positive test on December 16 which may exempt him from vaccination.
It all starts on January 5 when the Serb arrives on Australian soil following a medical exemption which authorizes him not to be vaccinated. But at the airport, the world number 1 is arrested by the border police who refuse him entry into the territory, believing that he does not sufficiently justify his medical exemption. His visa is then canceled. The next day, the Serb was placed in detention and it was finally on January 10 that Judge Kelly lifts Serbian’s visa cancellation, considering that he was unable to provide more information to the border police. He also orders his immediate release. Except that the Australian government, via the Minister of Immigration Alex Hawke, let it be known that it will evaluate the possibility of using its “personal power of cancellation”. This decision is finally made on Friday 14 January.
The Serb had already created controversy in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, by organizing the Adria Tour, a tennis and charity event, during which many participants (Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric, Viktor Troicki) as well as Djokovic himself and his wife Jelena had tested positive for Covid-.9 Contaminations which quickly sparked a flood of criticism from players in the tennis world. Lack of physical distance, hugs, farandoles with children, wild dances in a Belgrade nightclub… The images of the first stages of this Adria Tour, in Belgrade and Zadar, in the midst of a global pandemic, had indeed shocked, in particular this video captured in a nightclub in Belgrade:
Novak Djokovic met Jelena Ristic during her school career in Belgrade in the early 2000s. Not everything was easy for the young lovers, since Novak played his tournaments all over the world while Jelena completed her studies in Italy. The couple finally took up residence in Monaco and decided to get married in 2014. Jelena gave birth to their son Stefan in 2014, then to a little girl named Tara, in 2016. At the same time, Jelena Djokovic is director of the Novak Djokovic foundation, which the promotion of education in their native country.