Novak Djokovic relieved with the upliftment of his visa ban which will allow him to participate in his most successful Grand Slam
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Novak Djokovic
21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic had to fight a long battle with uncertainty hovering over his participation status at the 2023 Australian Open. It all started at the beginning of 2022 year when he was deported from the country for being unvaccinated against the COVID-19 vaccine. But now he can feel a huge relief as he is all set to return to Melbourne Park in 2023 after two years.
The Serbian legend faced one of the most horrifying experiences of his career when he wasn’t allowed to play the Australian Open despite entering the country with a medical exemption. He failed to defend his title and moreover, faced a three-year visa ban as per the deportation rules set by the Australian government. His vaccination controversy had been one of the most discussed issues for the year for which Djokovic was even highly criticized.
With less than two months left before the start of the Australian Open, the Australian federal government overturned its decision on the Serb’s three-year visa ban. He seemed relaxed and ecstatic with the news about his visa clearance and claimed that it is something he had been waiting for a long time. He went on to admit that it has quite been a tough year for him as well as his team who stood by him always during the testing times.
The former World No 1 said that “Of course I was very happy to receive the news yesterday about Australia, knowing what I and people close to me have been through this year. I could not receive better news. The Australian Open has been my most successful Grand Slam. I made some of the best memories there. Of course, I want to go back there, I want to play tennis, do what I do best, hopefully have a great Australian summer.“
Novak Djokovic guaranteed his place in the semifinals of the 2022 ATP Finals
The record 9-time Australian Open champion missed the Grand Slam at the Australian leg and also all the tournaments in the North American swing. But Novak Djokovic made a strong comeback and reached the finals in three consecutive ATP titles after the US Open. He won two out of the three titles as he won 13 out of his 14 matches prior to the Year-end championship.
After being qualified for the ATP Finals on the basis of his Wimbledon win, he won two of his matches in the round-robin stage of the Red Group. With his wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev, he guaranteed his place in the semifinals. Novak Djokovic aims to end the year on a perfect note as he is two wins away from equalling the record with six-time Turin champion Roger Federer.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)