“…They think they humiliated Djokovic but they have humiliated themselves…”
18 January 2022
Jeremiah Harrison
Sports Writer
World number one and Serbian Tennis star Novak Djokovic arrived in Dubai on monday morning after he was deported from Australia.
According to reports from Serbia on Tuesday, he landed on the home soil in Serbia.
The tennis star was supposed to partake in the Australian Open on Monday.
The court ruled that if he is not vaccinated he can not play at the tournament.
Reports emanating from Australia suggest that had Djokovic been allowed to play in the Australian Open this would be promoting the anti-vaccine movement.
Djokovic’s lawyer Nick Wood disagreed with the statement that his client is promoting anti-vaccine movement.
“The government doesn’t know what Mr Djokovic’s current views are”, Wood said.
The star lost his chance to defend his Australian Open title after an Australian court upheld a government deportation order.
Three Federal Court judges on Sunday sided with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision made to cancel the Serb’s visa on public interest.
Shortly after the ruling, federal agents escorted Djokovic, who is not vaccinated against Covid-19, to the airport in Melbourne, where he boarded an Emirates flight bound for the United Arab Emirates.
Before his departure Novak Djokovic commented on the decision taken by the Australian government.
“I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open,” he said in a statement. 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,” he added.
Djokovic dominated has the Grand Slam play with impressive performance lately.
He won four of the last seven major tournaments and finishing as the runner up in two others.
In 2020 at the US Open he failed to get to the final of the major tournament.
He was disqualified in the forth round for hitting a ball that hit a line judge in the throat after the match.
Serbian President Aleksanda Vucic lashed out at Australian authorities.
“They think that they have humiliated Djokovic with this mistreatment of him for 10 days, but they have humiliated themselves. Djokovic can return to his country with his head held high,” Vucic told local media
Acording to BBC news The Serbian star, 34, has not officially disclosed his Covid-19 vaccination status, but he’s made his resistance to jabs clear in the past.
In April 2020, well before Covid vaccines were available, Djokovic said he was “opposed to vaccination”.
He later clarified his position by adding that he was “no expert” and would keep an “open mind” but wanted to have “an option to choose what’s best for my body.”
During a Facebook live, he explained that he “wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine” to travel or compete in tournaments.
He added that he was “curious about wellbeing and how we can empower our metabolism to be in the best shape to defend against imposters like Covid-19.”
In Djokovic’s home country, where it’s estimated that under half the population is fully vaccinated against Covid, his comments were criticised at the time by government epidemiologist Predrag Kon, who accused the athlete of “creating misconception.
The Serbian was deported after his visa was cancelled for a second time, with the government labelling the 34-year-old a threat to public health.