Tennis Australia and ATP Tour release statement after Novak Djokovic disqualification from the 2022 Australian Open
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Novak Djokovic
The long-standing question of whether Novak Djokovic will be playing at the 2022 Australian Open or not has been finally answered after the Serbian lost his second appeal to stay in the country after his visa was cancelled by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke after the player had won the first appeal.
Hawke exercised his power as the Immigration Minister to cancel Djokovic’s visa and the court ruled the decision in the State’s favour this time, ordering Novak to be deported from the country. This also settles the question that the 3-time defending champion will not be able to defend his title for the 4th time and will have to wait for his 21st Grand Slam title till the 2022 French Open.
“Tennis Australia respects the decision of the Federal Court. As per Grand Slam rules the No. 1 position in the draw has been filled by a lucky loser. We look forward to a competitive and exciting Australian Open 2022 and wish all the players the best of luck,” read the statement issued by Tennis Australia in their latest media release as Djokovic was ruled out of the Grand Slam.
ATP Tour also issues statement about Novak Djokovic being disqualified
While the ATP Tour has remained silent over the situation throughout, they did release a statement after the whole situation was dealt with in the courtroom and Djokovic also ‘accepted‘ the decision.
“Today’s decision to uphold Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa cancellation marks the end of a deeply regrettable series of events. Ultimately, the decisions of legal authorities regarding matters of public health must be respected. More time is required to take stock of the facts and to take the learnings from this situation.
“Irrespective of how this point has been reached, Novak is one of our sport’s greatest champions and his absence from the Australian Open is a loss for the game. We know how turbulent the recent days have been for Novak and how much he wanted to defend his title in Melbourne. We wish him well and look forward to seeing him back on the court soon. ATP continues to strongly recommend vaccination to all players,” read the ATP statement.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)