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Red For Luck: Djokovic’s Keeps China Tradition Alive

Novak Djokovic says, “I wear red as a respect to Chinese culture and tradition. Hopefully, red brings luck.”

Dressed in red from jersey to shoes, 37-year-old Novak Djokovic paid tribute to all the fans at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena and wrote different Chinese characters on the camera lens after winning a match, continuing his routine of showing love for China at the ATP Shanghai Masters.

Djokovic told the press that the whole world knows the red colour represents China. “I do it intentionally. I wear red as a respect to Chinese culture and tradition. Hopefully, red brings luck. I’ve been playing well in red, so I keep the tradition going,” he said.

Though losing to world No.1 Jannik Sinner in the final of the Shanghai Masters on Sunday, Djokovic proved he still has competitiveness in high-level events, reports Xinhua.

“My main motivation comes from a lot of passion for the sport and also the desire to keep competing. There are kinds of matches and challenges that I still strive for being in a position to play against the best players in the world on the biggest stage of the finals of the biggest tournaments,” he said.

Having clinched four Shanghai Masters titles, Djokovic has made his name a legend among Chinese fans. “It’s been five years, coming back to one of the happiest places I’ve had in my career, a country where I had plenty of success on the tennis courts, many titles won, great memories,” Djokovic said.

The great support from the fans in China has left a strong impression on the Serbian star. “They are probably the most unique, the most passionate fans and so dedicated, daily waiting for you and really feeding you with a lot of love and energy,” he noted.

Djokovic has also paid close attention to the development of tennis in China. As the Paris Olympic champion for men’s singles, Djokovic revealed he is a “big fan” of Zheng Qinwen, who claimed gold in the women’s singles, making history for China.

“She’s so young. She made China proud this year at the Olympic Games. She brought the gold medal, I think first ever in tennis for China, so it’s a big deal. She’s a great person and a really good player that keeps on improving. We have a nice relationship off the court, and when we have a chance, we chat,” said Djokovic, adding that he is available to Zheng anytime she wants his advice.

Djokovic also described Zhang Zhizhen as “the most successful male Chinese player.” “He’s climbing the rankings, and he’s helping also other players to believe that they can get to the high rankings,” Djokovic said.

The tennis legend is optimistic about the future of Chinese tennis. “I think the Chinese mentality is such that, when they are dedicated to something, they’re really dedicated to something, you can see that working hard is not an issue here. I’m really happy and excited to see how Chinese tennis will grow in the future,” Djokovic noted.

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Djokovic Advances in French Open, Eyes 25th Grand Slam

Aiming for his fourth trophy on the clay courts of Paris, the 37-year-old Djokovic showed flashes of his best tennis…reports Asian Lite News

Top seed Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam with another comfortable display even as Alexander Zverev backed up his statement win against Rafael Nadal with a dominant display against David Goffin in the French Open on Thursday.

Aiming for his fourth trophy on the clay courts of Paris, the 37-year-old Djokovic showed flashes of his best tennis across a convincing 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory against Roberto Carballes Baena.

Zverev, the fourth-seeded German, who upset 14-time winner Nadal in straight sets in the opening round, came up with another fine display in his clash with Goffin as he overpowered the Belgian, 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2, hitting 37 winners under the roof on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to advance after two hours and 22 minutes.

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Denis Shapovalov of Canada also moved into the third round by winning in contrasting styles. Dimitrov, the 10th seed, romped past Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 6-0, 6-3,6-4 while Shapovalov came back after losing the first set to hand 25th seed Frances Taifoe of the United States, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 defeat in a second-round clash on Court 11.

Defending champion Djokovic cranked up his level late in the first set and rarely looked back Thursday as he got the better of Roberto Carballes Baena.

A highly contested opening set ended with Djokovic producing more aggressive baseline play, stepping in on returns and manoeuvring the Spaniard from corner to corner to earn a decisive break at 5-4. Djokovic built upon his momentum with clean ball-striking and quickly jumped to a double break 4-0 advantage in the second set.

Djokovic, who must reach at least the final to have a chance to hold off Jannik Sinner and remain World No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, brought the crowd to a standing ovation in the opening game of the third set when he responded to Carballes Baena’s drop shot by skillfully hitting the ball around the net post. The Serbian won 55 per cent of his return points, according to Infosys Stats, and broke Carballes Baena’s serve seven times to improve to 3-0 in his ATP head-to-head series with the World No. 63. All three of their meetings have come at Grand Slam level.

Zverev suffered a catastrophic ankle injury at the clay-court major in 2022, turning his ankle during his semi-final clash with Nadal at the end of the second set. After returning to Tour last year, the 27-year-old looks back to his best, having won his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome earlier this month.

The No. 4 player in the ATP Rankings is chasing his first major title and will next play Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor or Italian Luciano Darderi. Zverev is 30-9 on the season, earning 12 of those wins on clay.

After winning a tight first set, Zverev moved through the gears in the second and third sets to take full control against former World No. 7 Goffin. The German committed just five unforced errors in the second set and did not face a break point in the third set, according to Infosys Stats, to improve to 4-2 in the pair’s ATP head-to-head series.

In other action, Felix Auger-Aliassime moved past Germany’s Henri Squire 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round in Paris for the second time. The 23-year-old Canadian has enjoyed success on clay this year, reaching the final at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid. Auger-Aliassime will continue his run in the French capital against Ben Shelton or Kei Nishikori.

Eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz also advanced, defeating American Brandon Nakashima 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(5) in three hours and 20 minutes. Hurkacz fired 16 aces and won 83 per cent (67/81) of his first-serve points.

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Djokovic fined for smashing racket

Umpire Fergus Murphy promptly issued Djokovic a warning for a code violation due to his racket-smashing transgression…reports Asian Lite News

The 23-time Grand Slam winner, Novak Djokovic was hit with a hefty fine for smashing his racquet against the net post during the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz.

The incident happened in the fifth set of his defeat to the 20-year-old Spaniard on Sunday when Djokovic failed to break Alcaraz’s serve and subsequently lost his own service game and expressed his frustration by forcefully smashing his racket against one of the wooden net poles, leaving the dent on it.

Umpire Fergus Murphy promptly issued Djokovic a warning for a code violation due to his racket-smashing transgression.

As a result of his actions, the fine of £6,117 was issued to the seven-time Wimbledon champion and the money will be deducted from his runner-up cheque of 1.175 million pounds.

World number one Alcaraz took full advantage of the break to seal a 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory after four hours and 42 minutes.

The 20-year-old’s victory at the All England Club denied Djokovic a 24th grand slam title and also ended his unbeaten run at the Centre Court.

In Sunday’s final, Djokovic was twice handed a code violation. The first code violation came after the shot clock ran down to zero before Djokovic hit his service. The second came after he fell down by a break in the fifth set and violently destroyed his racket.

After the match, when Djokovic was asked about his two code violations he said “there’s no much to talk about that. Second one (his second code violation) was frustration. I had break points in the second game. Yeah, just tough, tough couple of points.”

The Serbian great was infamously disqualified from the 2020 US Open when he hit a ball out of frustration during his round of 16 clash, with the ball accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat.

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Djokovic advances to Wimbledon pre-quarters

The match was a one-sided affair largely and Djokovic won it 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(5)…reports Asian Lite News

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic advanced to the next round after a dominant win over Stan Wawrinka, a three-time grand slam title winner in their third-round clash at the ongoing Wimbledon championships in London on Saturday.

The match was a one-sided affair largely and Djokovic won it 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(5), as per ATP. With this, Djokovic also avoided the chance of the match being carried over to Saturday. “I have to say that it’s amazing what Stan is doing. Still his age, after several surgeries. We are two old guys fighting with the young guns, I think it is important to acknowledge that,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview as per ATP.

“It is amazing. It’s inspiring. Like Andy [Murray], he was forced to drop [in] the rankings in the last couple of years [and is] trying to build his ranking.”

“We have had some amazing battles on the biggest courts in the sport. I respect Stan a lot as a player, I really love him as a person. He’s an extremely nice guy. So I wish him all the best for the for the rest of the season,” said Djokovic.

After he won his second-round clash, Wawrinka was not expecting at all to upset the second seed.

“Hopefully I can make a competitive match, but if you will look at recent results, I don’t really stand a chance,” he had said.

The predictions made by the former World No. 3 came true. In his opening service game of the match, Wawrinka fought back to hold from 0/40, but the difficulty was a portent of things to come. In order to defeat his opponent and the 11 p.m. curfew, Djokovic was laser-focused.

The 23-time grand slam champion leads Wawrinka 21-6, head-to-head. This was their just third meeting since the final of the 2016 US Open, which the Swiss player won.

In the round of 16, Djokovic will be playing 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz, who defeated 14th seed Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4 earlier.

Earlier, trailing overnight, Stefanos Tsitsipas completed a thrilling turnaround victory on Friday at the ongoing Wimbledon 2023 when he stormed past two-time champion Andy Murray 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4.

On Thursday, the Scot led the Greek 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 6-4 before play was called off at 10:38 pm. Because a finish before the 11 pm. curfew appeared highly doubtful, the match was called off.

Tsitsipas, the World No. 5, came out on fire on Friday’s resumption. With his blistering forehand, he broke through to the third round of Wimbledon for the third time in a match that lasted for four hours and 41 minutes.

World Number One Carlos Alcaraz put up a dominant show against Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-3 to reach the third round of the event.

Alcaraz continued his perfect record at this year’s Wimbledon on Friday when he moved past Frenchman with a controlled display against World No. 84 Muller.

With his two-hour, 34-minute win, Alcaraz set a third-round clash against Jason Kubler or Nicolas Jarry.

On Court 3 in third-round action, Jannik Sinner of Italy fought hard to defeat Quentin Halys 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. After dropping the first set, the eighth seed dropped only three points behind his first serve the rest of the way.

Sinner, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon last year, won 62% of points on his second serve, compared to 46% for the Frenchman.

Holger Rune displayed a gritty performance to rally from a break of serve down in the first and third sets to secure a fine 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena to charge into the Wimbledon third round on Friday.

With 45 victories (twice as many as his opponent) and 47 unforced errors, Rune controlled the action in the match. He also slowly improved his serve after only winning three of 12 second-serve points in the first set.

The World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev made quick work of his delayed journey into the third round of Wimbledon on Friday, as he played just five games to complete a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

Elsewhere, Matteo Berrettini wasted no time in overwhelming 15th seed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of Wimbledon.

The 2021 finalist dominated on service, winning 88% of points on his first serve and denying all three of the Australian’s breakpoints. Berrettini continued to dominate from the baseline, hitting 38 winners to De Minaur’s 16.

The World No. 38 will next clash against 19th seed Alexander Zverev in the third round after the German defeated Japanese lucky loser Yosuke Watanuki 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. (ANI)

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Djokovic beats Cilic to clinch Tel Aviv Open

Djokovic sets up Tel Aviv title clash against Cilic.

With the victory, the Serbian became the first man to win a title on hard, clay (Rome) and grass courts (Wimbledon) this season…reports Asian Lite News

World No 7 and top seed Novak Djokovic defeated second seed Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the Tel Aviv Open 2022 title here on Sunday.

With the victory, the Serbian became the first man to win a title on hard, clay (Rome) and grass courts (Wimbledon) this season.

Djokovic did not lose a set at the indoor hard-court ATP 250, where he was never in difficulty against a lineup of dangerous opponents. The 35-year-old claimed his third tour-level crown of 2022 and the 89th of his career.

Cilic entered the final having faced just four break points all week, but he was under pressure on serve throughout the championship clash. Djokovic found great depth on his returns against the big-serving Croatian, which set the tone.

Djokovic constantly threatened his opponent’s serve with his play from the back of the court, while he dominated his own service games behind his first serve. The Serbian did not face a break point in the first set and when he found himself in trouble at deuce while serving for the set, he responded with back-to-back aces.

The top seed then broke for the second time in the match to start the second set, with a deep return again paying dividends. That advantage proved to be enough as Djokovic claimed the crown after one hour and 35 minutes.

Cilic has the ability to take the racquet out of any player’s hand with his powerful game, but he was unable to take Djokovic out of his comfort zone. The World No. 7 faced just one break point, which allowed him to play with confidence.

Djokovic now leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 19-2. Thirteen of his 19 victories against the former World No. 3 have come in straight sets. Despite the loss it was a good week for Cilic, who celebrated his 34th birthday on 28 September.

“It was a fantastic week for me celebrating my ‘irthday. I didn’t have a chance to celebrate with so [many people before],’but next time I’m buying drinks for everybody,” Cilic said during the trophy ceremony.

Djokovic is the fifth player to earn at least three tour-level titles this season, joining Carlos Alcaraz (5), Rafael Nadal (4), Andrey Rublev (3) and Casper Ruud (4). The Serbian will try to claim his fourth trophy of 2022 next week at the Astana Open.

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Djokovic remains out of contention for US Open

“There is absolutely no reason at this stage of the pandemic to not allow Djokovic to play at the US Open 2022,” said the change.org petition, which was launched on June 21…reports Asian Lite News

The 21-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic remains out of contention for the US Open unless there is some substantial change before the tournament starts at the end of August.

The Serbian will not be able to play in the Grand Slam because the organisers of the tournament have once again insisted that they will respect the US government’s Covid protocols.

However, almost 12,000 people around the world have now signed an online petition calling for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to work with the country’s government to allow Djokovic to compete in the US Open despite his refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccine.

The 35-year-old – a three-time champion at Flushing Meadows – was named on the entry list for the final Grand Slam of the year on Wednesday, but that is routine, rather than an indication that he will be allowed to play.

“There is absolutely no reason at this stage of the pandemic to not allow Djokovic to play at the US Open 2022,” said the change.org petition, which was launched on June 21.

“(The) US Government and USTA must work together to allow him to play … MAKE IT HAPPEN, USTA!”

Djokovic’s stance already cost him the chance to compete in the Australian Open earlier this year and it looks likely to do so again.

The Serb, who retained his Wimbledon crown with a win over Australia’s Nick Kyrgios earlier this month, in February said he was prepared to miss Grand Slam tournaments rather than take the Covid-19 vaccine.

The main draw at the US Open begins on August 29.

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Djokovic does not take any win for granted

After suffering a defeat against Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon final on Sunday, Nick Kyrgios hailed the 21-time Grand Slam champion and termed him ‘God.’…reports Asian Lite News

After his thrilling 7th Wimbledon title victory on Sunday, Novak Djokovic said that he does not take any win for granted, and ‘particularly not [at] Wimbledon.’

The Serbian claimed his seventh Wimbledon title and 21st Grand Slam overall by defeating Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in an exciting four-set final on Sunday at the Centre Court.

With this Djokovic also went past Roger Federer’s tally of 20 grand slam titles.

He reached his fourth consecutive title after defeating his Aussie counterpart 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3).

“Obviously over the moon with joy and happiness of experiencing this moment once again. I’ve said it many times, this tournament is extra special for me because it has been the first tournament that I’ve ever watched as a kid that got me to start playing tennis,” Djokovic said in a post-match press conference.

“I don’t take any wins for granted, and particularly not [at] Wimbledon. On the contrary, actually, every time feels a bit different, special in its own way. Of course, having family and close people in my life here to share this victory with them, it was beautiful,” he added.

After suffering a defeat against Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon final on Sunday, Nick Kyrgios hailed the 21-time Grand Slam champion and termed him ‘God.’

Djokovic went past Roger Federer’s tally of 20 grand slam titles, clinching his 21st grand slam title after defeating Kyrgios.

The Serbian reached his fourth consecutive title after defeating his Aussie counterpart by a margin of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3).

Nick Kyrgios: He’s a bit of God, I’m not gonna lie

“He’s a bit of God, I’m not gonna lie. I thought I played well. It’s been an amazing couple of weeks for me. Really happy with this result, probably the best of my career and hopefully maybe one day I’ll be here again, but I don’t know about that,” Kyrgios said in a post-match press conference.

The World No. 40 feels that Djokovic’s experience showed in the key moments, with the Serbian capturing his 21st Grand Slam title.

“I felt like he just has so much experience to draw to. He’s won the tournament four times in a row. When you win an event that much, when you’ve been in those situations, it’s unbelievable,” Kyrgios said.

“You can tell yourself you’ve been here before. The confidence and the belief in yourself, that only comes with achievement or something that he’s achieved like that many times. I can only imagine how confident he feels every day, especially at Wimbledon, walking around,” he added.

After taking the first set, Kyrgios was unable to push on and clinch his first Grand Slam title. However, the Australian was happy with his performance.

“I thought I handled myself well today. I came out there and I did what I had to do tactically to give myself a chance. I served amazing I thought today, and he was just able to put so many balls in play. I just came up short, and I’m happy with that,” Kyrgios said.

The Australian won the first set against Novak Djokovic Sunday before the Serbian turned the tables to seal his seventh crown at the Championships on Centre Court.

“My level is right there. I feel like you look at what Novak has done to some other opponents, it’s not a good feeling. But I’m right there,” Kyrgios said.

“I’m not behind the eight ball at all. I played a Slam final against one of the greatest of all time, and I was right there. [I will take] confidence. It was a hell of an occasion… I came out in the first set and I looked like I was the one who had played in a lot of finals. I thought I dealt with the pressure pretty well,” he added. (ANI)

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Djokovic back to form, reaches semi-finals of the Serbia Open

After working through some early struggles and coming to grips with Kecmanovic’s aggressive game, the top seed played some of the best tennis of his limited season in the latter half of the match…reports Asian Lite News

World No 1 Novak Djokovic has reached the semi-finals of the Serbia Open after coming through another three-setter in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

For the second straight day at the Serbia Open, Djokovic won a comeback three-setter against an in-form countryman. The top seed battled back from a set and a break down on Thursday against Miomir Kecmanovic to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Djokovic extended his win streak against Serbians to 10 matches, improving his record to 27-4 against his countrymen and 36-6 in his home nation.

“The scenario was similar to last evening’s match, but I managed to win and qualify for the semis,” Djokovic said in Serbian in his post-match interview. “Thanks to my team, I felt better than last night.” Djokovic was quoted as saying by the ATP website.

After working through some early struggles and coming to grips with Kecmanovic’s aggressive game, the top seed played some of the best tennis of his limited season in the latter half of the match.

Kecmanovic took the opening set without facing a break point, before an eventful start to the second saw a break chance in each of the first four games. After sitting down for the first changeover down a break, Djokovic began to elevate his precision and consistency from the baseline to level the match.

He won the final game of the two-hour, 18-minute contest, sealing his fourth break of serve with consecutive backhand winners. He won the final four games of the deciding set, dropping just two points in the process, and did not face a break point in the stanza.

Djokovic was happy with the way he held up physically in his opening match, a nearly three-and-a-half-hour encounter with Laslo Djere. With less than 24 hours to rest, he was again up to the task on Thursday, improving as the match wore on.

The victory is a repeat of the last clash between Djokovic and Kecmanovic — at the same stage one year ago in Belgrade, with Djokovic now holding a 2-0 heat-to-head edge in their series.

The 22-year-old Kecmanovic has been one of the most consistent players of the 2022 season. Now at a career-high of No. 38 in the ATP Rankings, he was playing in his fifth consecutive ATP Tour quarter-final. The loss drops him to 19-8 on the year.

Djokovic, chasing a third title at the Serbia Open and a fourth ATP Tour title overall in his home city, awaits the winner of the match between third seed Karen Khachanov and Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro, the report said.

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Djokovic booted out of Australia Open

Novak Djokovic of Serbia

Alex Hawke used his discretionary powers on Friday to cancel the visa given to Djokovic, who has not declared his COVID-19 vaccination status…reports Asian Lite News

World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic will not be able to defend his Australian Open crown this year after the Australian Immigration Minister, Alex Hawke, annulled his visa on Friday afternoon.

The nine-time Australian Open champion, who has won consecutive titles at Melbourne Park since 2019, had initially been granted a medical exemption to compete in the tournament.

The 34-year-old Djokovic, winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, had earlier this week won the legal battle in his bid to remain in Australia, with a court ordering his immediate release from immigration detention. However, lawyers for the federal government had told the court that the country’s immigration minister was reserving the right to exercise his personal powers to again revoke Djokovic’s visa.

Hawke used his discretionary powers on Friday to cancel the visa given to Djokovic, who has not declared his COVID-19 vaccination status despite a groundswell of demand for him to take the jab in the interest of public safety and his own health.

In a statement issued on Friday, Hawke said, “Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic. (File Photo: IANS)

“This decision followed orders by the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 10 January 2022, quashing a prior cancellation decision on procedural fairness grounds. In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic.

“The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Djokovic had sought medical exemption on the ground that he had tested COVID-positive recently (December 26), and so should be allowed to play in the opening Grand Slam of the year. Reports soon emerged that he had tested positive for the virus on December 18 and had given an interview to L’Equipe knowing well that he had COVID-19.

Djokovic, a strong opponent of COVID-19 vaccination, then issued a clarification on social media, saying, he wanted to address the “continuing misinformation” about his activities and attendance at events in December in the lead up to his positive PCR COVID test result.

“This is misinformation which needs to be corrected, particularly in the interest of alleviating broader concern in the community about my presence in Australia, and to address matters which are very hurtful and concerning to my family. I want to emphasise that I have tried very hard to ensure the safety of everyone and my compliance with the testing obligations.

Djokovic admitted he knew he was positive before his interview to L’Equipe on December 18 but did it because of commitment, apologising for the “error of judgement”.

“I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Equipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask exempt when my photograph was being taken… this was an error in judgment and I accept that I should have rescheduled this commitment.”

World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas has said recently that Djokovic has been “playing by his own rules” and has put his Grand Slam at risk, adding that the Australian Open defending champion has made vaccinated tennis players “look like fools”.

On Thursday, the Serbian was included in the draw and was scheduled to start his Australian Open campaign against world No. 78, compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic.

The Australian Open begins on January 17.

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No immediate deportation for Djokovic

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic. (File Photo: IANS)

After being held for several hours in the airport, during which he was placed in isolation in a police-guarded room, the Serb’s visa was cancelled in Australia….reports Asian Lite News

World No one tennis player Novak Djokovic will not be immediately deported from Australia, a government lawyer told a court hearing on Thursday as the tennis star remained in hotel quarantine.

Facing a legal challenge from the Serbian, state lawyer Christopher Tran on Thursday said Australia did not plan to deport him before Monday’s hearing in a Federal court.

Earlier in the day, the 20-time grand slam winner Djokovic was denied entry into Australia after his visa was cancelled by border force officials at Melbourne airport amid a storm of protest about a decision to grant him a medical exemption from Covid-19 vaccination requirements to play in the Australian Open.

The tennis star was holed up in a quarantined hotel in Melbourne as his lawyers sought an urgent injunction to allow him to stay in the country after he was detained by officials at the border. Djokovic’s legal team also managed to secure an interim injunction preventing authorities from deporting the tennis star until at least Monday.

On Tuesday, the world No 1 announced he was travelling to Australia on an “exemption permission”, but after landing in Melbourne on Wednesday evening he was held in isolation after reportedly attempting to enter the country on a visa that does not permit medical exemptions for being unvaccinated against Covid-19.

After being held for several hours in the airport, during which he was placed in isolation in a police-guarded room, the Serb’s visa was cancelled in Australia.



The border officials said the 34-year-old had “failed to provide appropriate evidence” for entry after arriving from Dubai.

“The ABF can confirm that Mr Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia, and his visa has been subsequently cancelled,” the Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a statement.

“Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa on entry or who have had their visa cancelled will be detained and removed from Australia. The ABF can confirm Mr Djokovic had access to his phone,” it added.

Shortly after the announcement, Australian PM Scott Morrison re-iterated that nobody was above the country’s border rules.

“Mr Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled. Rules are rules, especially when it comes to borders. No one is above these rules,” Morrison said in a tweet.

“Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant,” he added.

The Serbian, who has never spoken publicly about his vaccination status, had previously said that he was unsure whether he would compete at the January 17-30 tournament in Melbourne due to concerns over Australia’s quarantine rules.

With his record nine titles, Djokovic is the most successful player in the history of the Australian Open. He is also in a three-way tie on 20 career Grand Slams titles with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal in the all-time list.

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