Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic will be granted a visa to compete in the looming Australian Open, according to multiple reports.
Djokovic is serving an automatic three-year ban from Australia after being dramatically deported on the eve of the 2022 Melbourne grand slam for trying to enter the country while not vaccinated against COVID-19.
There were multiple media reports on Wednesday that Immigration Minister Andrew Giles had overturned that ban, and would grant Djokovic a visa to return to Australia for the January tournament.
While the vaccine mandate is no longer an obstacle for the former world No.1, Djokovic’s lawyers are still trying to have his visa ban overturned.
“Nothing official yet. We are waiting. They are communicating with the government of Australia. That’s all I can tell you for now,” Djokovic said on Monday after winning his opening match at the ATP Finals in Turin on Monday night.
Tennis Australia said late on Tuesday it was yet to hear any official confirmation.
“That’s entirely up to the Australian government. I know Novak wants to come and play and to get back to competing,” tournament director Craig Tiley said.
“He loves Australia and it’s where he’s had the best success but the timing [on any announcement] is up to somebody else and we’ll just play that one by ear.”
With Wednesday marking two months before the 2023 Open gets underway in Melbourne, the uncertainty is hardly ideal. But Tiley was hopeful that tennis fans – and Djokovic – would not have to endure a re-run of this year’s soap opera.
However, he was adamant he would not get involved as the ‘will he or won’t he’ saga raged on.
“There’s a normal visa application process that everyone is going through right now, and everyone will go through the right timing,” Tiley said.
“I don’t think there should be any preferential treatment for anyone.
“But I fully expect to have an answer for everyone by the time that they need to book their flights and come in, including Novak.”
Tiley was caught in the middle of last summer’s firestorm, breaking the news to the nine-time champion that he had secured a medical exemption to play at Melbourne Park, only for the then-immigration minister Alex Hawke to personally intervene and boot Djokovic out of Australia.
Despite the fiasco, Tiley said the 21-time grand slam winner had no hard feelings towards him.
“It’s funny, I’ve spoken to Novak a few times. We caught up and spent some time together in London and he’s fine. Our relationship is fine,” Tiley said.
“He played the Laver Cup and it was really nice to be able to spend some private time with him.
“He understands the circumstances and everything but he’s got to work it out with the federal government. I’m confident they’ll reach some arrangement and hopefully it’s positive.
“But I don’t know that. That’s really between he and the feds. But the conditions have changed significantly from where they were a year ago and I’d like to have Novak here.
“I want to have all the best players in the world here.”
-with AAP
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