MElbourner nights are long. At first they start very slowly, but then – they get very, very long, especially for Novak Djokovic and his followers. Although this is nothing unusual at normal times, the Serbian tennis professional has often played tennis in the Rod Laver Arena in the so-called night session.
But the times are not normal and the Australian Open has not even started, so that the world number one does not hit balls over the net late at night, but speaks up on social networks. “I am happy and grateful that the judge has withdrawn the revocation of my visa. Despite everything that has happened so far, I want to stay here and try to play at the Australian Open, “wrote Djokovic on Instagram and showed photos from the first training session with coach Goran Ivanisevic on Australian soil:” I can’t say more than thank everyone who stood by me and encouraged me to stay strong. “
Can you imagine Djokovic hitting balls for an hour in Melbourne Park? Relieved to be able to move freely again? It can be. But it can also be that he has to pack his things, leave the country and not come back for three years. Because after the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia in the form of Judge Anthony Kelly had initially decided on Monday to reverse the refusal of the Serbian visa, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke then had the last word, and he postponed the decision to next day.
Things are going haywire in Australia these days, and not just there. Not long after Djokovic’s first positive verdict had been reached, the Serb’s family announced that he should be arrested, which was immediately denied by the Australian government.
According to media reports, the nine-time Australian Open winner has now left the rooms where he was during the negotiation with his lawyers. Judge Kelly also ordered Djokovic to get his personal belongings and passport back. The 34-year-old is allowed to move freely for the time being, but Immigration Minister Hawke can still make use of his personal right to revoke the visa.
The government had already announced before the negotiation that it would consider further steps to continue denying Djokovic the visa if the entry refusal was lifted. Government attorney Christopher Tran confirmed this at the end of the trial. Djokovic could also appeal again against a renewed denial of the visa.
Is tennis the winner or the loser?
The fans of the world number one, who had demonstrated for their husband for days in front of the asylum hotel, could no longer be held on Monday either way. They waved Serbia flags. When a black car with dark windows drove from his lawyers’ office in the Rialto Tower on Collins Street, where they suspected it was, they surrounded the car, chanted “free Nole” and moved closer and closer together. The police then used pepper spray, and after five minutes the black car disappeared.
Not all gold that glitters: a bust of Novak Djokovic with an icon and trophies – everything for decoration at a press conference in Belgrade
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Image: dpa
Responses to the decision of the court from the large tennis community showed a wide range on social media. The Spaniard Feliciano López wrote: “Judge Kelly resolves the whole mess, this disaster, this absurdity that various parties have created. Tennis wins. “Trainer Daniel Vallverdu, who represents the coaches of the male tennis professionals in the ATP Council, answered promptly and wrote:” Tennis loses, Felix. From day one. “
Not long afterwards, Rafael Nadal said in a telephone interview with the Spanish broadcaster Onda Cero that a huge circus had developed around the matter. “But regardless of whether I agree with his story or not, a court has spoken. And that is what it is about. The judiciary has to decide in this case, and I am always an advocate of justice. “
The Spaniard still holds fast to his fundamental conviction that Djokovic can save himself and others a lot of problems if he finally gets vaccinated. The people in Australia had gone through difficult times because of the pandemic, he had said last week, and therefore he could understand very well the displeasure of Australians about the medical exemption for Djokovic.
The American John Isner, who had been on Djokovic’s side in the past few days, thought that there was only one thing left for the Serbs to do: “Win the trophy again and then never come back.”
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