Australia deports Djokovic - 19th January 2022

The Australian Open, hosted in Melbourne, has begun. But this season sees Novak Djokovic out of the games.

The world's top male player from Serbia arrived in Australia on 5th January expecting to be excused from the strict Australian Covid-19 vaccine rules.

Djokovic said that in December, he caught Covid-19 and was unable to get vaccinated before travelling.

However, immigration minister Alex Hawke found out that Djokovic hadn't mentioned his travels to other countries 10 days before entering Australia. The minister then cancelled Mr Djokovic's visa.

Djokovic went to court and the Australian court allowed him to leave quarantine to get ready for the games.

But the Australian government took Djokovic back to court a second time and got him to leave the country.

The government was afraid that if he stayed, his case would encourage the local anti-vaccination movement. However, fans were focused on the tennis tournament on the opening day.

Sarah Wals: "I think it's just better for everyone and people can focus on the tennis now, not on unvaccinated players."

Tennis fans are left undecided about the Djokovic situation.

Tom Crvenkovic: "Did he embarrass Australia? We stuffed up too. We didn’t handle it perfectly. I think both sides are to blame."

Djokovic was expecting to win his 21st Grand Slam and set a new world record. Instead, he is facing a three year travel ban to Australia.