Novak Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open gets a boost as immigration law specialist lists enough reasons for the Serb’s ban to be lifted
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Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic, the 21-time Grand Slam champion has won two consecutive singles titles on the Tour after failing to participate at the North American swing over his unvaccinated status that forbade him to enter the country. He had to face dire consequences due to his firm stance of not getting vaccinated due to which he even had to miss playing at two Grand Slam tournaments of the year-the Australian Open and the US Open.
His participation chances at the 2023 Australian Open arose after Immigration Law Specialist Dushan Nikolic gave a glimmer of hope with a fair chance of his possible ban getting lifted. He said “He’d have to show that there are compelling circumstances in the interest of Australia to lift that bar. A potential argument may be that it’s in Australia’s interests to have the best tennis player able to compete over the next three years at the Australian Open.“
Since the changes have been made with people who are allowed to enter their country irrespective of their vaccination status, Nikolic is hopeful that it might act as a boon for the Serb who is facing a three-year visa ban due to his deportation at the start of the year. He added that “And obviously, I’m sure that it’s possible to put financial arguments forward to support that. So my personal view is that I would expect him to be able to play next year’s Australian Open.“
Novak Djokovic might have a fair chance to play at the 2023 Australian Open
Novak Djokovic‘s deportation followed by a three-year visa ban has been one of the toughest setbacks for the Serb who is a 9-time champion at the Australian Open. He still is waiting for the final verdict on his ban as many decisions are to be made in the next few months prior to the start of the year and also with a decline in the number of cases that may lead to some significant changes in the rules.
Tourism Minister of Australia Dan Tehan also shares a major update when he states “But the most important thing here is that we protect the integrity of our immigration system. The rules about coming into Australia have changed, you don’t have to be vaccinated anymore. If they decide that he can come, they’ve got to do so in making that decision in a way to protect the integrity of our immigration system.”
Despite all the uncertainties and drama going over his participation since the beginning of the year, he is slowly gaining points to better his rankings before the end of the year by winning the Tel Aviv Open in Isreal followed by the win at the Astana Open.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)