Seems like that poor down-trodden tennis player Novak Djokovic forgot to turn in the right paperwork — perhaps assuming that the Australian Open tournament organizer’s blessing of a vaccination exemption was all he needed to go down under and compete for his 21st Grand Slam title.
But it did not work out too well when he turned out to have insufficient proof of good health (nor a correct visa) needed to enter the country.
After being detained for for several hours overnight Djokovic was shown the door an way back home on a return flight out of Australia. All because he could not supply the right sets of papers nor an explanation for what underlay his request for an exemption. (That’s a free NYT link BTW).
Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1-ranked tennis player, traveled all day Wednesday from Dubai to Australia, a journey that was supposed to begin his defense of the Australian Open singles championship.
On Thursday, he was told he would need to leave the country, following a 12-hour standoff with government officials at a Melbourne Airport, where he was held in a room overnight over the validity of his visa and questions about the evidence supporting a medical exemption from a coronavirus vaccine. The exemption was supposed to allow Djokovic, a 20-time Grand Slam champion and one of the biggest stars in sports, to compete in the Australian Open even though he has not been vaccinated.
The chain of events represented a startling turnabout for Djokovic, who in a little more than 24 hours went from receiving special, last-minute permission to enter Australia, to boarding an intercontinental flight, to essentially being told by the prime minister of Australia that he was not welcome in the country.
I’d say that makes Novak Djokovic a true man of the people, as getting your COVID paperwork in good order is something many international travelers find daunting these days. I’m sure he will take it all in stride, being a consummate professional and all that.
His dad, well he did not take it in stride …
How very Churchillian of the Novak’s pater!
(We will fight them in the first class lounges, we will fight them at the check-in lines, we will fight them at the X-Ray screening machines. We will never give in, never surrender!
Oh, wait, they’re giving last call to board our flight home — see ya!)