Djokovic receives a visa to play the 2023 Australian Open

The winner of 21 majors and former world number one, Novak Djokovic, has received a visa to play the Australian Open to be held from January 16 to 29 in Melbourne, according to several local media reports, including

The 35-year-old Serbian tennis player was deported from the oceanic country at the beginning of this year when he tried to cross the border without getting vaccinated to play the first

of the season, which Rafael Nadal finally conquered after coming back from Russian Daniil Medvedev in five sets.

Nole, winner of 90 titles and since last March the player who has accumulated the most weeks as number one (373), has been pardoned and, therefore, will travel to Melbourne at the end of December to try to match the 22 Grand Slams of Nadal.

Initially, the Balkan was expressly prohibited from entering the country until 2025 (three years of punishment), since he was arrested (twice) and finally deported to Belgrade after the Australian border guard detected irregularities in his documentation. .

Now, however, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has repealed the order, according to ABC.

In this way, Djokovic, the only player in the

who has not been vaccinated against the coronavirus, will have the opportunity to add to his record in the tournament – ​​the great one in which he has triumphed the most times (9) – and to try to catch the historical record of Nadal, the male tennis player who currently owns the most Grand Slams.

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Djokovic against the world, again

The decision of the Australian Government comes after the director of the tournament, Craig Tiley, said this month that the Serb would be welcome in January if the Executive granted him a visa.

It also arrives the day after Djokovic himself said he did not know anything about the decision.

“No, nothing official yet.

We are waiting.

They [their lawyers] are in communication with the Australian government, that's all I can say for now," he said after beating the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-4 and 7-6(4) in his debut in the Cup of Masters that is disputed these days at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.

Last July, Australia removed a law that required international travelers to present their covid vaccination certificate.

In fact, Djokovic went so far as to say last October that he had received "positive signs" about the possibility that the Australian government would lift the veto.

The Serb, firm in his position, has always stated that he has no intention of getting vaccinated given his convictions and was accused by the health authorities as "a danger to health and social order."

The full Australian Federal Court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed his application to set aside the cancellation of his visa.

Four absences... and four titles

His attitude has been a competitive setback, since in addition to not having been able to play in Australia, he could not do so this year at the US Open in New York, in addition to four Masters 1000: Indian Wells, Miami, Montreal and Cincinnati, since the US and Canadian legislation expressly prohibit entry if you do not travel there with the full vaccination schedule.

But he has never given in and the grotesque episode in January went around the world, becoming a messy diplomatic mess.

"It is the biggest victory of his career," his family conveyed in an appearance in Belgrade while his son was detained.

“As an elite athlete, I want to triple check what goes into my body.

If something changes my body by 0.5%, I notice it.

I am prudent before making any decision, I take my time and keep an open mind.

I will live with the consequences”, said the tennis player, who despite having had to give up several tournaments has won four titles this season, the same as Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andrei Rublev, only behind Carlos Alcaraz (5).

He celebrated the Masters in Rome, Wimbledon, Tel Aviv and Astana.

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