This is how the hours go by for Djokovic in Melbourne 2:05
Editor's Note:
Stephanie Myles is the editor of the Montreal-based tennis news site Open Court and has reported since the Australian Open since 2008. The opinions expressed in this comment are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -
This was not part of Novak Djokovic's plan.
The tennis star who posed with a big smile on Tuesday, with planes on the track behind him, announcing that he had been granted a medical exemption to play at the Australian Open and was about to fly to Australia, was instead about to embark on a saga of epic proportions.
Had things gone according to Djokovic's plans, he would have arrived in Australia on Wednesday night and would be at the Rod Laver Arena in the Melbourne summer sun at the latest on Friday, solving flight problems and preparing for the Open. from Australia.
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Instead, Djokovic spent Wednesday night at the Tullamarine airport.
And he will spend at least the next four days at Melbourne's Park Hotel, having apparently traveled to Australia on a visa that does not allow medical exemptions for the unvaccinated, according to comments by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to CNN.
The 34-year-old Djokovic has not publicly disclosed his vaccination status and has repeatedly cited privacy concerns when asked.
On Thursday, Morrison told a news conference that Djokovic "did not have a valid medical exemption" to the vaccination requirement to enter the country.
The billionaire tennis star is now a man in limbo, currently staying in a hotel used as an immigrant detention center, and who has since become a magnet for protesters of all stripes, from supporters to advocates. refugees.
Djokovic's supporters even received a greeting and a "heart" sign from their hero, from behind the hotel room window.
But according to accounts from some asylum seekers who have stayed there, the Park Hotel is a place of tiny rooms with no fresh air and the site of a coronavirus outbreak in October.
It is the place where some occupants have waited years for their case to be resolved.
They report an error in the Australian visa of Novak Djokovic upon arrival in Melbourne
That is why it is ironic that the new hotel guest has managed to have his appeal against the cancellation of the visa and the deportation order processed by fast track to be heard in hours.
Djokovic was installed on Thursday, and will remain there for at least four days after the appeal hearing on the cancellation of his travel visa was postponed until Monday.
Regardless of what you think about the Djokovic polarizer, there is no scenario where it has deserved this.
It is unlikely that the world's No. 1 tennis player would have boarded the long commercial flight to Melbourne if he had not received the green light from those responsible for the tournament.
But somewhere along the way, the information conduit involving Australian Open officials, the Victorian state government and federal authorities has become a broken telephone game.
Prime Minister Morrison insisted that the responsibility rests with the border authorities, not the organizers of the tournament.
"Tennis Australia said he could play and that's fine, it's his decision, but we made the decision at the border," he said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley, along with Acting State Sports Minister Jaala Pulford, urged Djokovic to be candid about the reasons he was granted the exemption.
That would have gotten them out of the trouble a bit.
They swore he was not receiving special treatment, but did not elaborate.
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After all, no official would want it to be seen that he was giving Djokovic a "prison release pass." Melbourne residents have endured some of the longest and harshest lockdowns in the world in the past 18 months, as the country pursued a "zero covid" strategy. Although those restrictions have been eased, for now, and the country has officially switched to "living with the virus," Melbourne residents continue to recall the restrictions that forced them to stay locked up for months.
In the background of the Djokovic debacle is the wave of covid-19 in Australia, now that the omicron variant poses a new threat just as states were relaxing restrictions.
There is a sense of unease and panic that did not exist a year ago.
The lines for PCR tests or rapid tests stretch across blocks.
Pathology labs and testing centers are closing due to overload.
Although it is the authorities and not Djokovic himself who are responsible for allowing them to enter the country, the moment could not be worse.
And with the state and federal elections taking place this year, Djokovic's high-profile drama is an opportunity for politicians to show their tough stance on COVID-19 violators.
A year ago, Djokovic saw how Australians treat the wealthy, those who stand out above the rest and expect special treatment.
A small group of tennis players and support staff traveled to last year's Australian Open and faced a two-week quarantine before being able to compete.
Any small complaint about bad food from the quarantine was greeted with anger and ridicule by many locals.
Players simply did not understand, according to many Melbournians, how privileged they were to be able to enter the country when so many loved ones could not make it home, not even to attend funerals.
In the last 24 hours, Djokovic has not helped himself.
A report by a Serbian tennis journalist said that Djokovic had requested to stay in the large apartment he had rented for himself and his coaches, rather than at the Park Hotel.
One imagines that the refugees detained next to him would love to hear it.
And if we know anything about Djokovic, it's that he's never been particularly good at reading the room.
His lawyer, Nick Wood, even tried to speed up proceedings on Thursday, saying Tennis Australia "needed to know before Tuesday" if Djokovic will play, so that it can "find a replacement player if necessary."
But the Australian Open is not a two-man exhibition in which the absence of a player is a crisis.
There will be more than 100 players competing for a spot in the main draw next week at Melbourne Park.
Finding a replacement is not going to be a problem.
In the end, Djokovic's arrogance hasn't helped.
But no one, not the different levels of government, not Tennis Australia or Tiley, comes out well off this.
And if Djokovic's lawyer presents a compelling case to the judge on Monday, and his client arrives at Melbourne Park ready to compete, Australian fans will be sure to give him the "welcome" they think he deserves.
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