Novak has been deported from Australia and will not play in the Australian Open. This is the end of the series with the Serbian tennis player, which lasted almost two weeks. However, this is not the end of questions about the Serb. What’s next for Djokovic?
Will he be vaccinated?
The leader of the ATP ranking will spend the next few days in the homeland he has just reached. And the next? As Adam Romer of Tenisklub magazine rightly noted on Twitter: “It’s surprising that little is said about the fact that Djoković may have similar problems to the” Australian “ones when entering other countries. The season is going to be tough for the Serb. ”
The pandemic continues, and tennis players are among the athletes who travel the world extremely often. Will unvaccinated Djoković be able to perform normally in the United States or Europe? Or maybe he will decide to get vaccinated? Other countries require or are considering the introduction of covid passports – also for visitors.
It is not known whether the best tennis player in the world will be able to play in Roland Garros – the next Grand Slam tournament after the Australian Open. According to “Der Spiegel”, French sports minister Roxane Maracineanu admitted that Djoković could start in the Paris event without taking covid vaccines.
Conflicting information from France
– Although France has stricter restrictions for unvaccinated people, there is no entry ban for them. Djokovic will have to abide by different rules than those who have been vaccinated, but he will still be able to compete, according to Der Spiegiel.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph says the French minister of sports is leaning towards a different option – tennis players wishing to participate in Roland Garros would need covid passports. President Emmanuel Macron has made strong comments recently towards people who do not want to get vaccinated. He announced that he would make their lives difficult. The tournament in Paris will run from May 22 to June 6.
Djoković will probably be able to play at Wimbledon (27/06-10/07). As Forbes reports: “Travelers to the UK do not need to be vaccinated against coronavirus if they test negative and are quarantined for 10 days within two days of arrival. However, it is still unclear whether Wimbledon will require immunization (organizers did not respond to a request for comment on the matter), but last year players were not asked to show proof of vaccination, and tournament officials have not indicated that they will change their policy. “
Where can Djoković not play?
Djoković’s biggest problem may be playing in the US. – Almost all foreign visitors going to the US must prove that they are fully vaccinated. There are exceptions to this rule, but most do not seem to apply to Djokovic. He could claim to have a documented medical contraindication to receiving the vaccine or claim a humanitarian or emergency exception from the US government, The Washington Post reads.
People from countries with limited availability of vaccines may also be exempt from vaccination requirements, but Djokovic’s home country, Serbia, is not on the list (almost all of them are in Africa). If the unvaccinated leader of the ranking could not play in the USA, he will miss not only the US Open Grand Slam (August 29-11.09), but also, among others, Masters tournaments in Indian Wells (10-20.03) and in Miami (21.03-3.04).
As reported by the Evening Standard, Djoković may also have trouble performing in Rome (May 9-15) at the Roland Garros preparation party. – With the current vaccination status, he would not be eligible to compete in Italy, where only vaccination or recovery qualifies for participation in sports events, concerts or going to restaurants. A negative test is no longer considered sufficient, we read.
It is not really known what the health status of Novak Djokovic is. The Serb claims to have contracted covid twice: in June 2020 after a series of Adria Tour tournaments, and in December 2021. Only in the first case he informed about it on social media, and in the second he was silent. It was only in the course of the hearing in Australia that the world learned that Djoković was supposed to pass positive for covid on December 16. Why did the leader of the ranking not share this information with the fans? Strange – all the more so that the positive result was to be an important argument for him in the dispute over admission to the Australian Open.
It is certain that after the turmoil in Australia, Djoković was hailed as a martyr of the anti-vaccination movement. “Rightly or wrongly, Novak Djoković is seen as an anti-vaccine advocate,” said Stephen Lloyd, a lawyer who represented the Australian government. Djoković initially questioned vaccinations, then withdrew from it, declaring, however, that he did not know if he would be vaccinated. At the same time, it turned out that he is a supporter of other para-scientific theories (hugging trees, the Pyramids of the Sun in Bosnia or influencing water through emotions).
Crazy two years
The last two years have been extremely crazy in Djokovic’s career: disqualification from the US Open 2020, three consecutive victories in Grand Slam tournaments in 2021, lost a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, defeat in the US Open final, when he was one step away from the Grand Slam (winning four titles in one year) and is now deported from Australia.
How will the exclusion from the Australian Open affect Serbia? After being disqualified in New York, he returned to the courts in a fantastic form, until July last year he was unstoppable. But then came the disappointments in Japan and the US Open. Djokovic had made a difference at home, and when he returned again, he won the Masters in Paris in style in the fall, but lost in the semi-finals of the Champions’ Tournament at the end of the season.
On the one hand, Djoković is extremely strong mentally. He has proven more than once that he likes the system: him – the rest of the world. He does not mind the hum of spectators sitting in the stands. At one time, he even explained that when fans shouted “Roger, Roger” during Wimbledon 2019, he tried to hear “Novak, Novak” in it. On the other hand, the Serb will turn 35 in May, he had three very unpleasant situations within six months, and this may have a negative impact on him. – Returning to mental form can be very difficult for him. It will turn out that the deportation itself is not a problem – the Australian media are wondering.
No more chances for the Grand Slam
It would be a great detriment to tennis, because you may not like Novak Djokovic, consider his views absurd and even dangerous, but he is a great athlete. One of the greatest tennis players in history, next to Rafael Nadal, Roger and Bjorn Borg. Tennis fans should keep their fingers crossed for Novak, because even if the time of younger players (Danił Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alexander Zverev) is slowly approaching, it is a great pleasure to watch them compete with the older champions.
One thing seems almost certain: Novak Djoković had his last career opportunity to win the Grand Slam last season. In order to win four Grand Slam tournaments in one year, he would first have to play in each of them. And with his deportation, he was banned from entering Australia for three years, as confirmed by the country’s minister of the interior on Monday morning, Australian time.
Will Djoković, the nine-time Melbourne tournament champion, return to the Australian Open at the age of 37? Doubtful. And if the government lifts this ban – it can do so on the basis of the country’s interests – will the Serb even want to come to the state that has closed the door to him at all?
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
