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‘Extremely disappointed’: Djokovic has final word as Open rolls on without him

An “extremely disappointed” Novak Djokovic has accepted his Australian Open fate and flown out of the country, unable to defend his title and facing the possibility of losing his place as the world’s No.1 men’s player.

Jan 17, 2022, updated Jan 17, 2022
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic departs from the Park Hotel government detention facility before attending a court hearing at his lawyers office in Melbourne, Sunday, January 16, 2022. Novak Djokovic still faces uncertainty as to whether he can compete in the Australian Open, despite being announced in the tournament draw. (AAP Image/James Ross) NO ARCHIVING

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic departs from the Park Hotel government detention facility before attending a court hearing at his lawyers office in Melbourne, Sunday, January 16, 2022. Novak Djokovic still faces uncertainty as to whether he can compete in the Australian Open, despite being announced in the tournament draw. (AAP Image/James Ross) NO ARCHIVING

The grand slam was kicking off in Melbourne on Monday without its men’s champion, who has been deported from Australia after an extraordinary 11-day saga amid protests from back home in Serbia that he’s been treated scandalously.

The nine-times champion Djokovic was expelled after his last-minute challenge to a decision to cancel his visa failed on Sunday, a three-judge panel of the Federal Court ruling unanimously against him.

The decision came after Immigration Minister Alex Hawke had cancelled Djokovic’s visa for a second time on Friday, citing a risk to public health and the chance the unvaccinated star’s presence in Australia could excite anti-vaccination sentiment.

Djokovic had been scheduled to begin his defence against fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic on Rod Laver Arena on Monday night.

But after five nights in a detention hotel, he wasted no time leaving and boarded an Emirates flight to Dubai that left at 10.30pm.

It still wasn’t clear where Djokovic’s ultimate destination was but there was an emotional outpouring of anger and support in Serbia, where the country’s president Aleksandar Vukic urged him to come home and the prime minister Ana Brnabic called his treatment “scandalous”.

“We had hoped that justice would prevail. That ‘public interest’ would not serve as a pretext for a decision that was eventually made,” Djokovic’s family said, adding that politics had won over sport.

“I am extremely disappointed with the Court ruling,” the 34-year-old Djokovic himself said in a statement.

“I respect the Court’s ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country.

“I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love.”

Djokovic, who must pay the government’s legal costs, said he is “extremely disappointed” but respected the court’s ruling.

“I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country,” he said in a statement.

“I would like to thank my family, friends, team, supporters, fans and my fellow Serbians for your continued support. You have all been a great source of strength.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the cancellation of Djokovic’s visa was in the public interest.

“Strong borders are fundamental to the Australian way of life as is the rule of law.

“Our Government has always understood this and has been prepared to take the decisions and actions necessary to protect the integrity of our borders.”

But Labor immigration spokeswoman Kristina Keneally said Djokovic should not have been granted a visa to travel to Australia in the first place.

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“This mess is not a failure of our laws. It is a failure of the Morrison government’s competence and leadership,” she said.

“Australians have made all the hard sacrifices during lock downs, only for Mr Morrison and his Government to serve up an embarrassing and farcical series of unforced errors after they foolishly granted Mr Djokovic a visa 60 days ago.”

The blame game is set to intensify now that his bid to play in the Open is officially over, with Djokovic also facing the prospect of losing his cherished world No.1 ranking to either Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev should one of them annex his title.

Tennis Australia are also set to be firmly in the crosshairs, having been accused of providing misleading information over vaccinations to players.

TA boss Craig Tiley has largely maintained his silence, except to blame “contradictory and conflicting” information for the saga.

Three-time major winner Andy Murray blasted Djokovic’s treatment.

“I don’t like he is in this situation and I don’t like he has been in detention,” Murray told the BBC.

“The situation has not been good all round for anyone … It feels everything here happened extremely last minute and that’s why it became such a s**t show.”

Djokovic’s bid to go one one clear of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer with a 21st grand slam title is now on ice.

And if he chooses to stay unvaccinated, it remains to be seen whether he will be allowed to contest the other three grand slams – Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open.

But the main show goes on with Nadal noting: “It’s very clear that Novak Djokovic is one of the best players of the history, without a doubt – but there is no one player in history that’s more important than an event.”

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