Australian Open: Boo ban against Novak Djokovic! | Sports

He’s back – and causing quite a stir even before the first game…

A year after his dramatic expulsion, Novak Djokovic (35) is allowed to play at the Australian Open again. Last year, the Serbian tennis star had to leave the country because of his lack of vaccination against the corona virus. His visa had previously been revoked and an entry ban of three years imposed.

Now neither proof of vaccination nor a negative PCR test is required to enter Australia. Tournament director Craig Tiley (61) also confirmed that tennis professionals could even play with a corona infection if they feel physically able to do so.

Djokovic has been in the country since the end of December and has been warmly received by the fans despite all the theater from the previous year. That could change with the start of the Australian Open.

A concern that also concerns Tiley. For fear of rioting, the tournament boss has now made a clear announcement: Anyone who boos against Djokovic will be thrown out of the stadium.

Tiley told the Herald Sun newspaper: “If they interrupt everyone else’s fun – they’re out. You can stay away or we will kick you out.”

The security staff will pay special attention to how the fans behave. And depending on their behavior, they can be banned not only from the stadium, but from the entire tournament site.

An announcement that of course does not please everyone. The Swiss tennis pro Stan Wawrinka (37) demands in the “Herald Sun” that the fans “can do what they want”. You can react when they cross a line, but he believes they should be allowed to do what they want.

Wawrinka explains: “The fans do this to every player every year – if they don’t like one player or like another, they will boo one and cheer for the other. This is tennis. This is sports. That’s what you want.”

The Australian Open starts on Monday, then we will see how the fans react to Djokovic….