MELBOURNE, Australia — In addition to security personnel and members of his entourage, Novak Djokovic striding briskly through the nearly empty Tullamarine Airfield, his eyes fixed on the bright white bricks glistening at his feet. The KN95 mask covered a large part of the face, but still could not hide the extreme boredom.
The 2022 Australian Open was just hours away, but the defending men’s champion, and then world No. 1, was preparing to leave Melbourne on an Emirates flight to Dubai, before landing. fly back to Serbia.
Djokovic just got embroiled in an 11-day legal battle in which he tried to get his Australian visa again after it was cancelled. The unvaccinated tennis star ultimately lost his bid, and Djokovic was deported and received a three-year ban from the country, with Australian immigration law preventing him from reapplying for the market. real until at least 2025.
This is one of the rare times in his professional career that Djokovic leaves Melbourne defeated. He hasn’t played a minute on the pitch, but he looks more exhausted than he was immediately after winning any of his nine Australian Open titles.
“I guess it’s one of those things that will stay with you for the rest of your life. You can’t forget those events,” Djokovic explains. “It hasn’t been easy for me, for my family, my team or anyone close to me.”
At moment later, I said 9NewsMelbourne: “It’s so widespread in the media that I can’t fight it. I’m caught up in a worldwide media storm that has anything to do with COVID and the vaccine. Everything got out of control and then I got labeled as this or that. I became the villain of the world, which is obviously a bad place to be as an opportunist. I’m staying at home for a few weeks, not really traveling much. I just hope the situation calms down.”
Djokovic’s humiliating opening match has received the support of the majority of Australiansespecially among Melburnians, who are subject to a strict lockdown throughout 2021. Locals have a feeling that Djokovic will be favored by the Australian government if he can attend the Australian Tennis Championships. By extension, this could spark further public outrage.
Much has changed in the past 12 months. Australia, like many countries, has dropped its duty to vaccinate foreign visitors against COVID-19. And, also very important to Djokovic, His three-year ban was reversed in NovemberWith Australian Immigration Minister Andrew Giles confirming Djokovic will be granted a temporary visa to enter the country and compete in the 2023 tournament, the Serbian star declared: “I couldn’t have received better news. .”
It not only gives Djokovic the chance to draw even with Rafael Nadal Because the most important wins in men’s tennis history, but there is a chance for redemption. A chance to win back fans. Last year’s dramatic expulsion saga was just another incident in Djokovic’s turbulent recent past, and his reputation appears to have been tarnished when it comes to defeat.
In January 2020, shortly after his win at Melbourne Park, the tennis world went into a nearly five-month hiatus as COVID-19 began wreaking havoc across the globe. In an effort to stay fit, Djokovic proposed the idea of an exhibition-style tournament in his native Balkans. The ATP gave the green light for it to take place from June to July.
This event, named “Adria Tour”, quickly heavily criticized due to a lack of social distancing protocols at stadiums, with thousands of fans seen mingling without wearing masks. A video also circulated shows Djokovic and a host of other tennis stars partying at the Lafayette Culinary Cabaret Club in Belgrade. The following days, Djokovic and his wife Jelena announced they were both infected with COVID-19. The rest of the event was canceled immediately.
A few months later, when the troubles of the Adria Tour finally subsided, Djokovic arrived in New York as the favorite candidate for the US Open. The absence of Federer and Nadal means Djokovic is one of three Grand Slam champions — along with Andy Murray and Marin Cilic – in the entire men’s draw. It was his tournament to lose.
But Djokovic’s name is once again making headlines for all the wrong reasons after his fourth-round match against Spain. Pablo Carreno Busta. After dropping serve in the 11th game of the opening set, and trailing 5-6, Djokovic took a spare ball out of his pocket and smashed it into the back of the court, causing a line referee to hit his throat. . Djokovic immediately raised his hand before rushing to assist. However, it left tournament referee Soeren Friemel with little choice. to exclude him from the event and stripped him of the $250,000 bonus he would have received if he made it to the round of 16.
By the time January 2021 had passed, by the time Djokovic boarded that flight leaving Australia, his reputation was already at an all-time low. The question everyone was pondering before this year’s tournament was how he would be received.
It only goes one of two ways. Djokovic may have returned to Australia with a heavy grudge against the country, government and people over what he believes to be mistreatment in 2022. He may show little remorse for how last year was. takes place and even manages to draw crowds in his matches. And while it can enthrall viewers, Djokovic says it’s not the right path to take. “If I hold a grudge [and] if I couldn’t go on, I wouldn’t be here,” he say.
Instead, Djokovic staged a public relations stunt. He opted out of the United Cup in Sydney in favor of the Adelaide International, quietly dipping his toes in the water before flew to Melbourne to watch a charity match.
He went up against the local hero Nick Kyrgios in an exhibit on the eve of the Australian Open — an exhibit that sold out in just 58 minutes. Djokovic received a standing ovation when he returned to the Rod Laver Arena, the arena where he enjoyed most of his career success. He made a splash with the Australian public by laughing and joking with Kyrgios, kids batting balls and interacting with fans, before talking about the country.
“It’s great to be back in Australia. This is the court and stadium where I made some of the best memories of my professional tennis career,” he said. “I was so emotional when I walked into the trial. I don’t know how things will turn out after the events of last year. I am so grateful for the energy and the reception, the love and the support that I received from the court. I receive.”
Melbourne is a multicultural metropolis, a city that more than 30,000 Serbian Australians call home. Djokovic will almost certainly be motivated by the ever-present crowd of strong Serbian supporters for every match he plays inside the Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic opens Australian Open campaign on Tuesday night with Spaniards Roberto Carballes Baena. He will once again strut his stuff on center court, where he wants to extend his singles win streak on Australian soil to 35 games.
That road to redemption begins now.
