The 2022 Australian Open will not include the joyful celebrations of world number one Novak Djokovic of Belgrade, Serbia. On Sunday according to the British Broadcasting Company, Djokovic lost in his bid to remain in Australia for the next two weeks and was deported for not being vaccinated for coronavirus.
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke believed if Djokovic had participated at the 2022 Australian Open, it would have set a bad precedent. Australian is and continues to be a world leader in taking coronavirus seriously. There are currently 1,265,348 active cases of coronavirus in Australia, as the country has been significantly impacted by Omicron.
The Djokovic story began 11 days ago when he was granted a medical exemption by Tennis Australia to play at the Australian Open. The Djokovic camp argued he should have been allowed to play because he just recently tested positive for coronavirus in December.
When Djokovic tried to enter Australia initially, he was prohibited from entering due to a problem with his work visa. Djokovic appealed the decision, and initially won the ruling, which allowed him to practice in Australia over the last week. However, Hawke once again cancelled Djokovic’s visa on the grounds that his presence in Australia would be “counterproductive to efforts at vaccination by others in Australia” and his “presence in Australia may be a risk to the health and good order of the Australian public,” according to Rod McGuirk of the Associated Press.
Djokovic’s withdrawal means Salvatore Caruso of Italy will be added to the tournament. Djokovic was to play fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round on Monday.
Djokovic, being a nine-time champion, was considered the favourite at the 2022 Australian Open. Now the favourite needs to be Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who won the U.S. Open in September.
