Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovicwho preparing to participate in the Australian Opensaid this Thursday in the oceanic country that the deportation last year for not having been vaccinated against COVID-19 It was “difficult to digest.”
“What happened 12 months ago was not easy to digest (for) a while”Djokovic said at a press conference in Adelaide, broadcast by the channel nineand before his participation in a tournament prior to the first Grand Slam of the season.
Novak Djokovic is back in Australia to play the Open, after being deported in January
The tennis player, who was held in a Melbourne hotel for days in January of this year, stressed that These types of situations are remembered for a lifetimealthough he noted that it is a “valuable learning experience.”
“At the same time, I had to move on and that event and those circumstances will not replace what I have experienced in Melbourne (previously) and in Australia throughout my career”, added the nine-time winner of the Australian Open and who is looking for his twenty-second Grand in this edition.
“Obviously (it was) disappointing to leave the country like that. It is a country where I have had tremendous success in my career, especially in Melbourne,” Djokovic told the media.
after that controversial incident that captured international media interest, the fifth racket in the world continues to affirm that it feels good to be back in australiaa country with which he has strong ties and where he hopes to “have another great (austral) summer.”
Djokovic, one of the favorites to win the Australian Open which begins on January 16, has arrived in the oceanic country in advance – Tuesday night – to be able to reach his best form for the tournament, assured the Serb.
“It is a challenge to come to Australia Due to the time zone (and for that reason) I did something different and came earlier than usual. The goal is to reach the top (of the game) in Melbourne: It’s where I want to play better”, stressed Djokovic.
A media deportation
In January 2022, Djokovic, who intended to defend his center in Melbourne, was detained by immigration police upon arrival in Australia while questioning the validity of his medical exemption, who claimed that he had recently overcome COVID-19, and ordered his deportation for violating the measures against the pandemic.
Cancellation of Australian visa for Novak Djokovic ‘puts an end to a series of unfortunate events’, says the ATP
During the beginning of the year the Oceanic country forced travelers who wanted to enter the nation to have the complete vaccine schedule against COVID-19 or a valid proof.
The athlete, who He was locked up in a hotel guarded by Immigration, He appealed the authorities’ decision but after an intense court battle, the full Australian Federal Court found that the player’s presence in the country posed a risk to health and public order.
The authorities Djokovic was deported hours before the 2022 Australian Open and placed on a three-year entry bana measure that the legal team managed to get overturned in November by arguing that the oceanic country has already lifted all restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
The Djokovic scandal came at a time when Australia was facing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases with the gradual reopening of its borders in November 2021, after almost two years of strict lockdown. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
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