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Press about Djokovic hammer: "Biggest shame in history" - Serbian President speaks of "witch hunt"

2022-01-16T10:30:09.389Z


Press about Djokovic hammer: "Biggest shame in history" - Serbian President speaks of "witch hunt" Created: 2022-01-16Updated: 2022-01-16 11:17 am By: Christoph Klaucke Novak Djokovic is not allowed to participate in the Australian Open after an entry thriller. His native Serbia railed against Australia's politics. The news ticker. The Australian Open will start in Melbourne on Monday (January


Press about Djokovic hammer: "Biggest shame in history" - Serbian President speaks of "witch hunt"

Created: 2022-01-16Updated: 2022-01-16 11:17 am

By: Christoph Klaucke

Novak Djokovic is not allowed to participate in the Australian Open after an entry thriller.

His native Serbia railed against Australia's politics.

The news ticker.

  • The Australian Open will start in Melbourne on Monday (January 17).

  • Novak Djokovic has to leave Australia, his appeal against the annulment of his visa was rejected.

  • The reactions from his native Serbia are violent.

  • This news ticker is continuously updated.

Melbourne – Nobody could have expected that tennis star Novak Djokovic* would trigger a controversy that would attract attention around the world when he entered Australia on January 5th.

The unvaccinated world number one wanted to take part in the Australian Open starting on Monday with a special permit, but after a long back and forth his visa was finally withdrawn. 

Novak Djokovic: Entry thriller ended - tennis star has to leave Australia

The entry thriller has been decided: Serbian Novak Djokovic cannot defend his title at the Australian Open and has to leave the country. The world number one lost his visa question before the Australian federal court on Sunday. The court ruled that the 34-year-old's appeal against being refused 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, the first day of the Australian Open tournament, at the earliest. Djokovic had to pay the costs of the procedure.

"I am extremely disappointed with the decision," said Djokovic shortly afterwards in a statement from which several media quoted.

The verdict is the final twist in the entry story, which has attracted international interest far beyond the tennis scene for almost two weeks.

"I'm uncomfortable that I've been the focus of the past few weeks and I hope we can all focus on the game and the tournament I love," said Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic: Violent reactions from home Serbia

The reactions from Djokovic's home country of Serbia to the decision were outraged.

“The greatest disgrace in the history of sport happened in Melbourne!

Shame on you, Australia!” wrote the

kurir.rs

portal .

"The law has lost, politics has won." The portal

informer.rs

headlined: "Shaken like never before!"

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic reacted with incomprehension to the forthcoming expulsion of Novak Djokovic from Australia.

He said that to the tennis star in a phone call.

Vucic also spoke to the Serbian media again on Sunday about a "witch hunt" that Djokovic had to endure in the past few days.

Djokovic is apparently not considering any further legal action.

He respected the court's decision and will cooperate with the appropriate authorities regarding his departure from Australia, he said.

According to a report by the AAP news agency, an appeal to the High Court, Australia's highest court, would have been possible.

The chances of success were slim anyway.

Novak Djokovic has to leave Australia.

© James Ross/Imago

Novak Djokovic: Unvaccinated tennis star is not allowed to participate in the Australian Open

Unvaccinated against the coronavirus, Djokovic is a controversial figure in the country that has imposed tough rules since the pandemic began.

He wanted to take part in the Australian Open with a medical exemption, where only vaccinated players are allowed to take part.

The authorities had refused him entry last week.

An initial court decision on Monday was in his favour, Djokovic then continued preparing for the Australian Open.

The 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner has already won the first Grand Slam tournament of the season nine times and most recently triumphed three years in a row.

He is the record champion of the event.

Novak Djokovic misses Australian Open - chance for Zverev?

The hearing before the federal court began at 9:30 a.m. local time on Sunday morning.

Around five hours later, the three judges retired for the verdict before they announced the decision in the early evening.

In the meantime, more than 85,000 people watched the decisive session on the Federal Supreme Court's YouTube channel.

As reported by AAP, Djokovic had followed the meeting from his lawyers' office in Melbourne.

He had spent the night before the hearing at the federal court in a deportation hotel.

He had already been there for four days when he was initially refused entry.

The final negotiation was preceded by a hanging game that lasted for days.

Djokovic said he would now take some time to recover before making any further comments.

With his exit, the chances of the title also increase for Olympic champion Alexander Zverev.

The Hamburger has decided to conquer his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne. 

(ck/dpa) *tz.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All sports articles on 2022-01-16

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