Novak Djokovic was part of the draw despite the unclear situation about his visa at the Australian Open and is supposed to play against his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round. It is still unclear whether the Serb will actually be allowed to compete in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, which starts on Monday. The decision of Australia’s Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is still pending after the draw for the tennis tournament. Even the more than an hour delay with which the event had started did nothing to change that.
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Number one seed Djokovic is in the same half of the tournament as German number one Alexander Zverev. As in the Olympic Games and the US Open, the two could only meet in the semifinals. Zverev meets Daniel Altmaier in a German duel in the first round. The three-time Grand Slam tournament winner Angelique Kerber first has to deal with the experienced Estonian Kaia Kanepi. The tournament will take place in Melbourne from January 17th to 30th.
Andrea Petkovic had a hard time with the French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova from the Czech Republic and Tatjana Maria with the two-time Grand Slam tournament semi-finalist Maria Sakkari from Greece. The German number two Jan-Lennard Struff meets the US Open quarter-finalist Botic van de Zandschulp from the Netherlands, Dominik Koepfer faces Carlos Taberner from Spain.
Djokovic, however, continues to make the headlines. He is not vaccinated against the coronavirus and his visa could be withdrawn by the government. The 34-year-old number one in the tennis world rankings was stopped last week upon arrival at the airport and initially taken to a deportation hotel because the border officials did not have enough documents for his medical exemption. Djokovic successfully defended himself against the decision in court on Monday and has since trained in Melbourne. He has already won the Australian Open nine times and is the defending champion. With another triumph this year, the record winner of the tournament could also become the sole record holder with 21 Grand Slam tournament titles.
The decision about his participation has still not been made. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday, when asked by a reporter, that Immigration Secretary Hawke was considering exercising his personal rights and revoking the world’s number one visa. “These are personal ministerial powers that Secretary Hawke can use, and I will not comment on them at this time,” said Morrison.
On Wednesday it became known that new information from the lawyers of 34-year-old Djokovic had postponed the timeframe for Hawkes’ decision. It is still not known when, after days of tug-of-war over the Serbian visa, it will finally be clear. Hawke is still taking his time on the third day after Djokovic’s success in court, and a decision will not be made this Thursday either.
In addition, it was announced on Thursday that due to the tense pandemic situation, spectator capacities at the Australian Open will be limited to 50 percent of the possible occupancy. “These changes to the rules for the Australian Open mean that fans, players and staff can look forward to a great, safe event,” said Victoria State Minister of Tourism, Jaala Pulford, in a statement. The state of Victoria has had an immensely high number of infections. On Thursday, more than 37,000 new cases were recorded within 24 hours. There were also 25 Covid-19-related deaths and 953 people were admitted to hospitals.
The excitement in Australia in the Djokovic case is therefore still great. In response to the tug-of-war for the tennis star’s participation in the Australian Open, the newspaper “Sydney Morning Herald” wrote on Thursday: “If you could measure the temperature of the country, this would indicate that people are tired of hearing how exceptionally well paid athletes talk about Covid and vaccines and the sacrifices they make so that we can watch them play. “
It continues: “As livelihoods are lost and loved ones die, hospitals are overcrowded and nurses work 36-hour shifts, while people like zombies roam the streets in search of quick antigen tests and booster vaccinations and double-ply toilet paper and the elderly and the disadvantaged wonder how they can survive this chaos, now would be the right time for a detached athlete to show humility and decency. And shut up. “
And that brings one “of course to Novak Djokovic, who – by himself, his family and his supporters – is portrayed as a modern Muhammad Ali who is oppressed by the system. (…) On December 16, he caught the dreaded virus, received a medical exemption and then babbled on Instagram about what started the shitstorm he is currently in. Sometimes it really pays not to say anything. “
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