Australian Open: Novak Djokovic ready to leave Australia – Serbia’s press is raging

The federal court in Melbourne decides: tennis star Novak Djokovic has to leave Australia. He is disappointed, Serbia’s President speaks of a “witch hunt”.

+++ 11.45 a.m.: After his defeat in a federal court, tennis star Novak Djokovic will leave Australia on Sunday. As reported by the Australian newspapers The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, the 34-year-old Serb will fly from Melbourne to Dubai at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday evening (local time).

Meanwhile, there are further reactions after the court decision: Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic reacted with incomprehension to the forthcoming expulsion of Novak Djokovic from Australia. Vucic also spoke to the Serbian media again about a “witch hunt” that Djokovic had to endure in the past few days: “I told Novak that I can’t wait for him to come back to Serbia, to his country, where he is always welcome is,” said Vucic.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks of “witch hunts against Novak Djokovic

Vucic also accused Australian government lawyers of lying. “In the pointless trial, you could see how much the prosecution is lying. You simply lied. They say there are less than 50 percent vaccinated people in Serbia, but it’s officially 58 percent. That is more than in many other European countries. That was a pointless argument.”

Australian athletes are always welcome in Serbia. “Thank you to the people of Australia. I’m sure they love Serbia,” said the politician: “They think they humiliated Djokovic, but they only humiliated themselves. He can return to his country and look everyone in the eye with their heads held high.”

“Disappointed” Djokovic ready to leave Australia – Serbia’s press is raging

+++ 11.00 a.m.: After the Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic lost his visa question before the Australian federal court and had to leave the country, Serbian and Croatian online media reacted. kurir.rs from Serbia writes: “The court has decided: deportation for Novak! The greatest shame in the history of sport happened in Melbourne! Shame on you Australia! (…) The law has lost, politics has triumphed.”

The Serbian alo.rs thinks: “A disgrace like you’ve never seen it before! Djokovic will be deported, he won’t play at the Australian Open.” And the Croatian 24sata.hr writes: “Well, ‘Djoxit’ after all! Novak will be deported.”

“Disappointed” Djokovic ready to leave Australia – government welcomes judge’s decision

+++ 10.40 a.m.: Tennis star Novak Djokovic expressed disappointment after his visa for Australia was finally revoked, but wants to comply with the decision and leave the country. With the decision, the court followed the arguments of the government on the eve of the Australian Open. The government welcomed the decision and said the strict corona entry policy had “guaranteed our safety”.

“Now it’s time to continue with the Australian Open and enjoy the summer of tennis again,” wrote the Prime Minister on Facebook.

+++ 09.00 a.m.: Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is apparently not considering any further legal action after the ruling by the Federal Court of Australia. The world number one said in a statement that he respected the court’s decision and would cooperate with the relevant authorities regarding his departure from Australia.

“I’m extremely disappointed with the decision,” said Djokovic. The 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner has already won the Australian Open nine times. “I’m uncomfortable that I’ve been the focus for the past few weeks and I hope we can all focus on the game and the tournament I love,” Djokovic said. He will now take some time to recover before making any further comments.

Federal court rules: Novak Djokovic must leave Australia

+++ 08.00 a.m.: Novak Djokovic is not allowed to take part in the Australian Open and has to leave the country. As the federal court in Australia ruled on Sunday, the Serbian tennis pro’s appeal against his denied entry and the annulment of the visa was rejected.

The decision was unanimous, according to the announcement by the three judges James Allsop, Anthony Besanko and David O’Callaghan. The reason should be given on Monday at the earliest. Neither side can appeal the verdict.

Update from Sunday, January 16th, 2022, 7 a.m.: In the court session in Australia in the case of Serbian tennis professional Novak Djokovic, the judges retired early Sunday afternoon (local time) to make a decision. Three judges of the federal court decide whether the world number one can stay in the country and take part in the Australian Open, which begins on Monday in Melbourne, or whether he has to leave the country. The 34-year-old defending champion Djokovic had appealed after his visa was withdrawn again.

Australian Open: “Anti-vaccination mood” topic in the Djokovic case

The previous hearing was broadcast online. As the Australian news agency AAP reports, Djokovic followed the meeting from his lawyers’ office in Melbourne. The record winner of the Australian Open spent the night before the hearing in the federal court in a deportation hotel.

First, the lawyers of the 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner presented their line of argument. Among other things, they raised the question of whether Immigration Secretary Alex Hawke had not considered whether “anti-vaccination sentiment” would also be fueled if the tennis pro’s visa was declared invalid. The Australian government had given the reason why Hawke had again declared Djokovic’s visa invalid that the stay could promote “anti-vaccination sentiment”. The government side argued that Djokovic could be a role model for vaccine skeptics.

Australian Open: Alexander Zverev takes sides for Novak Djokovic

First report: Melbourne – It’s already one of the big excitements of 2022: The corona* Posse about tennis star Novak Djokovic. The 34-year-old Serb traveled to Australia without a corona vaccination to participate in the Australian Open 2022* to be able to participate. The authorities then withdrew his visa on January 5, a court reversed this decision due to a procedural error, after which Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke again declared Djokovic’s entry visa invalid.

According to court documents, the 34-year-old is again being held at the Melbourne deportation hotel where he was housed prior to the first court hearing while a court reviews Novak Djokovic’s final appeal against his deportation from Australia. The professional athlete’s hearing is scheduled for Sunday (01/16/2022) at 9:30 a.m. local time Tournament starts on Monday (01/17/2022)*

Australian Open: Final decision in the case of Novak Djokovic is emerging

Australian news agency APP reported that the hearing is scheduled to take place before three judges on Sunday. According to the Federal Court of Australia, the case will be heard by Presiding Judge James Allsop and his colleagues Anthony Besanko and David O’Callaghan. After a decision by three judges, no appeal can be lodged against the verdict. The decision as to whether Novak Djokovic can take part in the Australian Open or be deported from Australia is then final.

In a hearing on Saturday (01/15/2022, local time), Hawke also gave an explanation as to why Djokovic’s visa was revoked. According to the cited court documents, the government describes the “Djoker” as a “role model for supporters of anti-vaccination sentiment”. Djokovic’s presence could “cause anti-vaccination sentiment to increase and potentially contribute to an increase in civil unrest,” according to Hawke.

Djokovic is a vaccination skeptic and, in his own words, has not been vaccinated against the corona virus*. Vaccination is mandatory for foreigners who want to enter Australia. In addition, there are incorrect information about his travel activities before the flight to Melbourne, which the “Djoker” declared a “mistake” of his team. His behavior after a positive corona test result also caused criticism.

Australian Open: German tennis star strengthens Novak Djokovic’s back

The German tennis star Alexander Zverev strengthened Novak Djokovic’s back. “I don’t know enough about the situation, but I think if it weren’t for Novak Djokovic, the world number one with 20 Grand Slam titles, then it wouldn’t be such a big drama,” he is quoted as saying by Sky. He doesn’t think it’s very fair for a person to come to Australia and not be able to play. “The Australian and Victorian governments should have known in advance what was happening,” he said.

Boris Becker, who trained Novak Djokovic between 2013 and 2016, also appeals for understanding. “If you don’t get vaccinated, that doesn’t automatically make you a bad person. I’ve been vaccinated and boosted, but I’m also in my fifties. There are many people who share Novak’s view, trust in their strong immune system and maybe also have a different view of the world,” he said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. As a democratic society, one should also allow other opinions. (msb) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

List of rubrics: © Mark Baker/AP/dpa