Djokovic´s Dilemma

First topic message reminder :

Djokovic has spent a lot of time complaining about COVID restrictions during the pandemic. But I don´t recall him yet missing a big tournament as a result. For at least one tournament, I seem to recall it was the Olympics, he tried to imply or say he was very doubtful about attending, presumably in his attempt to use his star power to get at least some rules changed. When this didn't work, when they called him on his bluff about not attending, he folded and went anyway.

Now, he has got two choices, and neither seems great from his perspective and given his beliefs.

1. Get vaccinated and attend the Australian Open. This would be a total fold, a clear admission of bluffing, and a very clear admission that he has been trying to use his star power to get rule changes rather than genuinely not planning to attend. It's sort of an admission of defeat.

2. Don´t play the Australian Open. This means giving up on one of his best chances to retire with the most slams. His attendance at this event could yet make all the difference. This also risks the vaccination issue coming up over and over again at other tournaments. Will other slams have similar rules? Is he also prepared to miss them?

lags72 wrote:Fresh evidence emerging today, this time regarding the Travel Declaration form submitted by Djokovic as part of his visa application. It appears that he was ….er ….  less than truthful in relation to his most recent travel history (ie immediately prior to arrival in Australia)

All in all, it’s hard to imagine a more questionable application. And yet, there he is, happily practising and free to enjoy his time in the country ; in marked contrast to all those who do follow rules, but are nevertheless barred, even if that means being denied the opportunity to visit seriously ill family members.

Apparently Tennis Australia completed it on behalf of him (and other players). I’m not sure how accurate it is but I’ve seen reports that every form had that box ticked “no” (somewhat surprising given how globetrotting tennis players tend to be).

To be honest, Djokovic comes across really badly with his anti-vax stance and seeming wilful disregard to infecting others on 17-18 December. However, as far as his application and subsequent fallout is concerned, I do think that most of the blame seems to fall on the Australia Open organisers and government officials. The transcripts of the airport interviews which have been released are ridiculous (and in fairness to him Novak handles it much better than I think I would have done at 4 in the morning).

Still no word on any Aussie Govt final decision on Novaxgate. I've never been a great fan of Djoko and some of his actions and pronouncements are just plain daft.

But I think it would be churlish for the Aussies to chuck him out now, given the shambolic handling of the whole matter.

Born Slippy wrote:

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Apparently Tennis Australia completed it on behalf of him (and other players). I’m not sure how accurate it is but I’ve seen reports that every form had that box ticked “no” (somewhat surprising given how globetrotting tennis players tend to be).  

To be honest, Djokovic comes across really badly with his anti-vax stance and seeming wilful disregard to infecting others on 17-18 December. However, as far as his application and subsequent fallout is concerned, I do think that most of the blame seems to fall on the Australia Open organisers and government officials. The transcripts of the airport interviews which have been released are ridiculous (and in fairness to him Novak handles it much better than I think I would have done at 4 in the morning).

on Tennis Australia

Interesting if true. Serves only to add weight to the impression that Tennis Australia - and of course Craig Tiley as the Aus Open TD - have about as much credibility right now as Novak Djokovic.
I’m sure Tennis Australia does lots of admirable work ; but in this specific area, they have been found badly wanting, and it seems clear that their prime focus was in ensuring that their Slam had the strongest possible field. And if that meant clandestinely exploiting every available loophole (legal or otherwise), then, in their eyes, the ends justifies the means……

on the airport / ABF interviews :

My own reaction - initially - on reading the transcripts was much as your own : he does appear to be calm & measured in his responses. BUT, having given more thought to the pattern of events and the wider context, a few points come to mind :

- although 4am local, his body clock could well have been more in early/late evening mode rather ‘middle of the night’

- safe to say that even if he flew commercial (as opposed to private jet when taking shorter flights) he would not have been sat in row 53 economy. He would have travelled as comfortably as possible, enabling a fair amount of rest on the long journey

- he would be canny enough to realise that there were holes (to put it mildly) in his application for the exemption, and hence knew that courtesy rather than arrogance was the better strategy when under scrutiny by the ABF.

And finally ….., on your comment that “Djokovic comes across really badly ……..”
 Indeed he does (possibly the understatement of the year, and still only mid-January ……     )

I noticed he was very quick to thank profusely all his fellow-Serbian supporters as soon as his release was secured by the Court ruling. I can’t help wonder what he thought about all the thuggish behaviour and violent aggression shown by many of those supporters on the streets of Melbourne ; a city which is - in normal circumstances - one of the most agreeable, friendly, and safe, places to visit, anywhere in the world. Perhaps Novak might wish to apologise for the thoroughly unpleasant atmosphere his countrymen created in their quest to ‘support’ him. I won’t be holding my breath.

I am hearing reports that Djokovic actually attended the stamp ceremony on the day of his covid test but he had not actually tested positive at that point, he got the result that evening after the event. What is worth considering here is that who is to say he didnt notify the relevant people organising it that he was about to be tested and they said to just plough ahead. A large event like that (not many of us get a stamp done for us!!) was presumably organised for a long time so maybe they didnt want to postpone the event if they didnt even know if he was positive or not at that point. We might never know if he was upfront about that and told them he was being tested but it sounds like they take a more relaxed approach in some countries.

However if he met the children at the event two days later after testing positive, that is very bad but again has it actually been confirmed that event did take place that day or did it happen before and photos were posted a day or two later as was the case with the other event. That I am not clear on. He absolutely should not have attended the event if he knew he was positive. I dont think anyone would agree with him doing that!

The Tomic incident today is utterly bizarre. The Oz Open 2022 will be one we never forget and the tournament hasnt even started yet. Who knows what other surprises lie ahead before the main draw even commences. Its quite unbelievable.

The stamp event appears to be a red herring. Confirmed timings appear to be:

16 Dec - stamp event
16 Dec 8pm - COVID results
17 Dec - kids tennis event
18 Dec - L’Equipe photoshoot

We don’t know why he got tested and whether he should have sensibly cancelled his engagements on 16th but where he has real problems are obviously the events on the following two days. His family shut down the press conference as soon as a question about this was raised, so I’d guess he just carried on regardless.

I agree regarding events on 17th and 18th December. It is possible what I said about 16th event where he could have told the organiser in advance he was being tested that day but didnt have result and they said lets go ahead but thats just guessing.

For the events on 17th and 18th that would be bad if those dates are indeed confirmed as the dates they actually happened if he knew he was positive for Covid. Sometimes images can be shared a day or two after an event takes place.

It would be interesting to know what communications happened in advance of those events. Even if as was outlined, there were masks throughout both events with the exception of when the photos were taken, the optics are very bad. He will need to explain those.

During the course of the pandemic (and I mean not just in relation to the Djokovic case) virologists have sometimes opined that people who contract Covid more than once (as has Djokovic, according to his own statements) can be considered ‘super-spreaders’.

His behaviour following the now-infamous December positive test cannot be seen as anything less than irresponsible and thoughtless.

EDIT - mind you, if there is any substance to the Ben Rothenberg twitter claim, as linked by JHM in his post yesterday …… then perhaps Djoko knew that the test wasn’t actually positive at all.

I expected better from Mr Novak 'I speak five languages and have very high intelligence' Djokovic if i'm honest.

He doesn't appear to be very popular with these Australian newsreaders -
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10390445/Novak-Djokovic-lying-sneaky-hole-leaked-footage-shows-news-presenters-slamming-Serb.html

Djoko has admitted two errors.

This is from the BBC this morning: "Novak Djokovic has admitted breaching isolation rules after testing positive for Covid-19 last month and acknowledged errors in his travel form.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the Serbian admitted meeting a journalist for an interview two days after he tested positive on 16 December.

"I accept that I should have rescheduled," he wrote.

His activity is being investigated as the Australian government considers whether to deport him.

"In the post, he also blamed his agent for making a mistake on the travel form he used to enter Australia."

With the latest developments covered above by sfp, the Australian Government will risk appearing wholly gutless  - not to mention total hypocrites - if they now fail to deport him.

Let’s not forget that the appeal Judge ruled on a very narrow spectrum, ie purely the procedural technicalities immediately following his arrival at Melbourne airport. He undertook no examination at all of the legitimacy of his initial visa approval, or the accuracy of information provided in support, including the wider context surrounding the allegedly positive Covid test.

My own hunch is that the Covid test was very likely not positive but was staged in terms of both actual result and (an ever-so-convenient) timeline.

Once again, many many questions to be asked of Craig Tiley, whose reputation is already in tatters. He simply cannot dare to show up making any sort of presentation or closing speech etc

EDIT - blame my agent (not my responsibility) …… error of judgement (but no actual apology)- could it be any more dodgy and devious …… ??

In fairness lags72, its a really big decision for them to make. I think to overturn a court decision and now cancel his visa is a very big call. From what I heard in a recent radio interview, they have two options with it. They either speak to Djokovic directly and advise him (perhaps tell him to consider his position), the other option is the nuclear option. They have to deem is Djokovic a risk to Australia and its people?

The other thing with this is that if they deport him, I think that is a minimum of a 3 year ban and therefore he wouldnt play at the Australian Open again. There is a lot to consider on this.

My own feeling is that Djokovic should probably head home himself but I very much doubt that will happen. I still think though all of this would have been prevented if they just said fully vaccinated or no play. By introducing exceptions, things like this are always likely to happen, particularly given how many players are travelling from overseas across the different draws.

Make no mistake, this is a very complicated matter. Who is to say if you didnt dig deep into the rest of the players, you wouldnt find lots of secrets around travel declarations, covid positive tests etc.

Personally have had about enough of Djokovic and the whole covid/tennis sage. But I do not think anyone is coming out of this mess with much credit whatever the outcome.

Tennis Australia wanted the drawcard and were ready to exploit any loophole to see him aboard. Vic Government loves Big Sporting Events and is always ready to fiddle with the rules to ensure they aren't compromised. Australian Government will do whatever it thinks will garner the most votes. Djokovic has been a bit of a d..k over the whole vaccination issue throughout.

Once he got here under some sort of blurred lines exemption surely it should have been left there ? Not as if one tennis player is going to make a difference when the state has 35000 new cases daily , is it ?

Politics ? Publicity...whatever.  I reckon they'll let him play. But I really don't care anyway...

You make some very balanced points in your post slasher, and I’m inclined to agree with the substance of all you say.

It is indeed a huge call now that things have been allowed to get this far. Public opinion within Australia would be largely on the side of the Government IF they went for the ‘nuclear option’ as you put it. But the alternative - though IMO totally improbable - solution of Djokovic doing the decent thing and voluntarily withdrawing his tournament entry place would be far preferable, given all that has gone on.

In particular, a policy of ‘no vaccination = no entry’ really would have been the most effective (and, I sense, the most respected) strategy for the AO to adopt. And that is why - quite apart from various aspects of Djokovic’s own behaviour - I continue to be so heavily critical of Tennis Australia, and of TD Craig Tiley.

It is a total unholy mess - for the AO, for Australia, and for professional tennis overall ; but nothing much more to add on Djokovic (for now !) or I’ll just be repeating myself ……..

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/novak-djokovic-were-the-results-of-his-positive-pcr-test-manipulated-a-cf3e7344-e98f-4fc3-8bb3-7727d4795e97

@ JHM - how very interesting ………..

Do we know whether the Australian Immigration Minister will have seen this (or at least a similar report) ? I ask because all recent references to the ongoing Government enquiry have revolved around the untruthful answer given on the Travel Declaration Form, with no mention of the highly dubious PCR test results. One wonders whether these revelations (in the linked article) will be taken into account by the Minister as he deliberates the matter of potential deportation.

I have a feeling Djokovic will be given his marching orders before the draw is made tomorrow.

slashermcguirk wrote:I have a feeling Djokovic will be given his marching orders before the draw is made tomorrow.

Hmmm……… we shall see. Still only 50 / 50 im my view …….. They may ultimately bottle it, and let him stay.

I feel that if they DO go for the deportation, they would ‘soften the blow’ (hardly the best expression, I know ……) by stating that this will not mean a 3 year ban and that he will be welcome to return for the 2023 AO, just as long as he complies with all relevant requirements at the time.

Even if they gave him a 1 year ban, hard to see him wanting to return.

JuliusHMarx wrote:https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/novak-djokovic-were-the-results-of-his-positive-pcr-test-manipulated-a-cf3e7344-e98f-4fc3-8bb3-7727d4795e97

Thanks - this is worth reading everyone.

It's not clear to me whether they backdated a real positive test (presumably a Dec 26 positive test might have meant exclusion from the tournament if he was still in the infectious period when he travelled?) or if there never was a positive test at all.

In a way, as a theory, it makes sense.

It would explain why he was wandering around all over the place doing these events.

He never would have expected such media scrutiny. If you are only trying to deceive the tournament and media officials, what they did might have been enough.

Will any Serbian journalist have the courage to do some proper investigative reporting on this - would they dare publish something that might be unpopular and perceived as unpatriotic, if people in Serbia just want to hide this under the carpet? Perhaps go and speak to the hospital, authorities, whoever, to follow up on this? Someone doing a good job could probably easily sell the report for well over a year's salary in Serbia to a Western organization?

Or someone from a Western organization might go to Serbia and start asking questions while the tournament is going on, and Djokovic is playing, and turning up more things. What happens if, say, hypothetically, in between Djokovic's semi final victory and the final, it becomes conclusively proven that the positive test was faked on Djokovic's orders?

Then again, maybe there is an explanation. However, if no-one has provided something that explains the Der Spiegel report in say 2-3 days from now maybe...then you would have to start leaning towards believing it.

Man, the Australians must badly wish they could travel back in time 2 weeks and just say no to Djokovic, that was obviously the right decision at that time.

If this has been fabricated and the limited evidence does point to that, it then begs the question if this is the only time

Here they're reporting it as Djokovic "suffers yet another blow" as the evidence continues to mount against him.

I was getting frustrated as to why it was taking so long for the Minister to make an announcement but the longer this drags on we're hearing that Djoko's legal team is submitting more and more bits of evidence and this is why the case against him has more facts or otherwise to consider.

I thought it was very interesting hearing the Serbian PM, Ana Brnabić, adding more fuel to the fire by saying the same Covid isolation rules apply in Serbia and there are no excuses. She has slammed Djokovic for a “clear violation” of his COVID-19 isolation requirements and said they (the Serbian health authorities) will have to look into that matter as well.

If he doesn't voluntarily withdraw from the tournament (and save some face by apologising to everyone), then it could well be that he faces a more humiliating exit at the hands of Australian Border Force before facing further hard questions upon his return home to face the music back in Serbia.

Though he'll probably hang out in Spain at first; to get all of his facts together before having to explain it all over again to the authorities back home.

Someone described Djokovic's explanation to questions asked and it involved negative tests one day and a positive test another day and social distancing and mask wearing and removing the mask for pictures and on and on it went and I got a bit confused and decided I didn't want to waste my life on  all the minutiae being dug up - instead I'll listen to Aussies like Pal Joey and others about how it is all going doing in Australia + await the immigration ministers decision.

Question to Pal Joey - is the Djokovic issue dominating Australian news or are there other news being reported ahead of it?

ps apparently the AO draw will be made including Djokovic (number one seed) ahead of any announcement by the Immigration Minister.

No name Bertie wrote:Someone described Djokovic's explanation to questions asked and it involved negative tests one day and a positive test another day and social distancing and mask wearing and removing the mask for pictures and on and on it went and I got a bit confused and decided I didn't want to waste my life on  all the minutiae being dug up - instead I'll listen to Aussies like Pal Joey and others about how it is all going doing in Australia + await the immigration ministers decision.

Question to Pal Joey - is the Djokovic issue dominating Australian news or are there other news being reported ahead of it?

ps apparently the AO draw will be made including Djokovic (number one seed) ahead of any announcement by the Immigration Minister.

Main news story is new Covid cases and the affect on the freight-transport logistics network workers, closely followed by Djokogate. They've delayed the AO draw but now a Spanish Inquisition has begun over Novak's stop-over there in late December before boarding the flight to Dubai-Melbourne.

In the UK it occupies about the third story 1) BoJo must go  2) Prince Andrew must go  3) Djoko must go.

Seems the AO officials got fed up waiting for a Govt decision on Djoko and have now gone ahead with the draw for the AO (more on that on our AO topic)

No name Bertie wrote:In the UK it occupies about the third story 1) BoJo must go  2) Prince Andrew must go  3) Djoko must go.

Ha... yeah. I was thinking exactly the same thing today.

I wonder what odds Duty can get for all 3?
Personally I think 1 and 3 will happen.
2 won't happen but it's so embarrassing for him he may as well go into permanent hiding.

Pal Joey wrote:

No name Bertie wrote:In the UK it occupies about the third story 1) BoJo must go  2) Prince Andrew must go  3) Djoko must go.

Ha... yeah. I was thinking exactly the same thing today.

I wonder what odds Duty can get for all 3?
Personally I think 1 and 3 will happen.
2 won't happen but it's so embarrassing for him he may as well go into permanent hiding.

2) has sort of happened - he has been stripped of his military titles and his HRH title. He is still a "Prince" though because he is still the Queens son.

Djokovic's visa has been cancelled and he will be deported. Apparently his lawyers are going to challenge the decision.

Full statement from Immigration Minister Alex Hawke:

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.

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.

I thank the officers of the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force who work every day to serve Australia’s interests in increasingly challenging operational environments.

So barring more lies and falsified documents, Djokovic not only gets deported but a 3 year ban from Australia?
Good to see from Australia

Jeff Navarro wrote:So barring more lies and falsified documents, Djokovic not only gets deported but a 3 year ban from Australia?
Good to see from Australia

The three year ban on future temporary visas is the standard policy, but there are waiver powers under which exceptions can be made.

And in terms purely of today’s decision, this is the last part of a statement by the Australian PM :
“ Due to the expected ongoing legal proceedings, I will be not be providing any further comment.”

which implies that another appeal will be launched ……….

What a circus. Lawyers must be making a fortune.

What a show. Australia has gone to town.

JuliusHMarx wrote:What a show. Australia has gone to town.

It feels like Festivus here...

Next episode in the legal shenanigans :

“A ‘Directions Hearing’ on the Djokovic case  will take place within the next few minutes “



What an unedifying spectacle. This thoroughly distasteful saga rolls on ……..

Djokovic appeal fails. He will depart Australia.

Djoko's statement speaks of his disappointment with the judges' decision today but that's the end of it now as he says he will comply with the deportation.

Can't help thinking that it would have been a crazy tournament with Novax playing. There might have been unrest in the stands and his presence would have dominated the tournament for all the wrong reasons.

No one has really come out of this well. Tennis Aus boss Tiley should have said right from the start that there was a "no vax, no play" policy.

Federal and Victoria state jurisdiction got all tangled up, too. Djoko, meanwhile, has hardly covered himself in glory either. The timing of the "alleged" positive test of December 16 seemed particularly dodgy and then he apparently broke Spanish and Serbian regulations thereafter.

After this war, tennis might actually break out and we can start considering just who might lift the AO trophy at the end of the month.

I think it’s the right decision but will result in far less interest in the tournament. Djokovic was the man to beat and it would be like Nadal missing the French open, there will always be the question mark, would the winner have won if Novak was playing? He has won the last 3 and 9 of the last 14.

I think it takes hugely from the tournament but I do agree with the decision.

slashermcguirk wrote:I think it’s the right decision but will result in far less interest in the tournament. Djokovic was the man to beat and it would be like Nadal missing the French open, there will always be the question mark, would the winner have won if Novak was playing? He has won the last 3 and 9 of the last 14.

I think it takes hugely from the tournament but I do agree with the decision.

Sorry but I disagree with this assessment. Had Djokovic been injured then the ‘what if scenario’ could be viable.
Djokovic had the option to play had he taken the vaccination. He opted against this. So it’s only his own fault for losing his title.

Most observers are in agreement that the Australian authorities have hardly covered themselves in glory throughout this saga ; a saga which gradually took on all the appearance of a madcap circus.  

Democratic Governments come and go at the whim of their electorate, but sadly for Djokovic the personal damage goes far deeper and it will be permanent. His hugely impressive on-court achievements will of course always stand in the record books, but his wider legacy and image are seriously tarnished forever. All for the sake of a couple of jabs in the arm. So sad ….. so avoidable.

As Rafa put it so succinctly : we are all free to make our own decisions, but decisions have consequences.

I disagree, it will be yesterdays news by later in the year. Look at tiger woods etc, crazy balls up after another but people don’t tend to care after a while. As McEnroe rightly says, professional sport is not a popularity contest, you are judged on what you win in the game

JN I get your point but every player in that field knows is a weaker draw now and the man to beat is gone. It’s Djokovics own fault as you say but it is what it is, had he been vaccinated he would most likely have won it, let’s not kid ourselves. Djokovic will retire having played 9 Australian open finals and won all 9 that he played. Phenomenal legacy

Again the decision was not based on the merit of the case for deportation but the fact that the Immigration Minister followed procedure and used his powers to deport Djokovic. The original deportation order was overturned because procedure was not followed. This time it was.

There is comment that Wimbledon and the US Open will likely follow suit - no vax no play, while Roland Garros will allow unvaxxed players to play as long as they follow certain protocols.

A legacy that will forever be tainted, trying to use one's vast wealth to circumvent a countries border controls. Those dodgy tests will not be forgotten.

My prediction is there will be no issues at the remaining 3 slams.

Soul Requiem wrote:A legacy that will forever be tainted, trying to use one's vast wealth to circumvent a countries border controls. Those dodgy tests will not be forgotten.

Nope, he is already the most successful player of all time in terms of big titles won. Do I need to share the stats? :-) I am not into popularity contests.

slashermcguirk wrote:JN I get your point but every player in that field knows is a weaker draw now and the man to beat is gone. It’s Djokovics own fault as you say but it is what it is, had he been vaccinated he would most likely have won it, let’s not kid ourselves. Djokovic will retire having played 9 Australian open finals and won all 9 that he played. Phenomenal legacy

I agree with this statement

The whole thing was an almighty mess with many people at fault for it.

The Australian tennis authorities giving out the impression that unvaxxed players could play. The Australian government not being strong enough to step in earlier and insist all players had to be vaccinated and Novak Djokovic for the many errors he made applying for the visa.

At the end of the day the government should have made it clear - no vaccination no passport to play. And Djokovic had a choice. This would all have never come to be if he had got vaccinated. He has made his choice though putting his choice of no vaccination above competing in the Australian Open.

I wonder what would have happened had Djokovic, in the last few days, offered to have the vaccination in Australia? That would surely have solved the problem immediately. Would that have sufficed? I wonder but it would seem Djokovic was too stubborn to contemplate that option.

slashermcguirk wrote: ………….. As McEnroe rightly says, professional sport is not a popularity contest, you are judged on what you win in the game

You might want to tell that to Djokovic

It’s doubtful that we have ever seen a top-level tennis player more desperate than Novak to gain wider popularity !

After many years of trying, he (finally) took a big step forward in that regard by evoking the crowd’s sympathy as he was brought to tears amidst the understandable stresses & strains of his humbling USO defeat last year, and the possibility of a ‘calendar’ Grand Slam.  And yet so much of those ‘gains’ has now been eroded by his ill-considered actions, his dishonesty, and his disregard for the health & welfare of others during a major pandemic.

Yes, McEnroe was certainly a divisive character too. But he knew it all too well and in fairness never actively sought popularity with tiresome ‘please love me’ gestures to crowds in the stands - in fact, quite the opposite at times

It’s irrelevant though in GOAT conversations. I have never liked tiger woods but I am not going to argue that along with jack nicklaus he is the greatest ever. He seems like a tool off the course and has made several big blunders but that has no impact on his golf legacy even though I don’t like him.

With Djokovic, he has always divided opinion and even this aside he always would. Yes he got support in NY but that was mostly because people wanted to see history being made. He made big mistakes in Australia but at the end of the day, it’s stats and records that people will remember. Like him or loathe him, his achievements are unrivalled. There will always be scandals and controversy in sport, that’s life.

I guarantee if an investigation was done on all the players in the Australian open, we would be cracking out the popcorn