Novak Djokovic Loses Visa Appeal, Won’t Bid For Record 21st Major Title At Australian Open

The Novak Djokovic saga is finally over and the world’s No. 1 player has lost before even stepping on a tennis court.

Three Judges in Australia late Saturday dismissed Djokovic’s challenge to overturn the cancellation of his visa for a second time, so he will not be able to challenge for a record 21st Grand Slam title and a 10th Australian Open championship.

The 34-year-old Serb and three-time defending Australian Open champion will remain stuck on 20 major titles at least until the French Open begins in late May.

It is the first time since 2004 that Djokovic will miss the Australian Open, and a “lucky loser” will replace him atop the draw as the No. 1 seed.

Djokovic said he was “extremely disappointed” by the court’s decision, but would cooperate with authorities over his departure from the country.

“Today’s decision to uphold Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa cancellation marks the end of a deeply regrettable series of events,” the ATP said in a statement. “Ultimately, decisions of legal authorities regarding matters of public health must be respected. More time is required to take stock of the facts and to take the learnings from this situation.

“Irrespective of how this point has been reached, Novak is one of our sport’s greatest champions and his absence from the Australian Open is a loss for the game. We know how turbulent the recent days have been for Novak and how much he wanted to defend his title in Melbourne. We wish him well and look forward to seeing him back on court soon.”

Australia’s immigration minister revoked the unvaccinated tennis star’s visa for a second time Friday, saying his presence could lead to an “increase in anti-vaccination sentiment” and even incite “civil unrest.”

In his second appeal hearing over the weekend, Djokovic’s attorneys argued there was no evidence of this and that in the previous tournaments at which Djokovic has played, there was no evidence his presence had fostered anti-vaccine sentiment.

Djokovic arrived in Melbourne nearly two weeks ago and promptly had his visa canceled for failing to show why he was medically exempt from having the Covid-19 vaccine. Djokovic had tested positive for Covid-19 for a second time in December, and that was the reason given for his exemption.

Australian sports broadcaster Eddie McGuire said on Patrick McEnroe’s “Holding Court” podcast that Australian officials told Djokovic upon his arrival that if he had agreed to get one vaccination shot, they would have cleared him to enter the country because they would have counted his positive Covid-19 test last month as one vaccination as well.

“Had Novak Djokovic on Sunday or Monday acquiesced to taking a vaccination in Australia, they would have said Dec. 16 you had Covid, we’ll tick that off as one one vaccination, you’ve got the second one, all clear you can play,” he said. “He hasn’t done that.”

Canadian tennis player Vasek Pospisil, who co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association with Djokovic, said the Serb was not to blame for the fiasco that has dominated the headlines for two weeks.

“Novak would never have gone to Australia if he had not been given an exemption to enter the country by the government (which he did receive; hence Judge Kelly’s initial ruling),” he Tweeted. “He would have skipped the Australian Open and been home with his family and no one would be talking about this mess. There was a political agenda at play here with the elections coming up which couldn’t be more obvious. This is not his fault. He did not force his way into the country and did not ‘make his own rules’; he was ready to stay home.”

Without Djokovic in the draw, several other players stand to benefit, especially those on the top half of the draw like No. 3 seed Sascha Zverev and No. 6 Nadal, who was drawn to meet Djokovic in the semifinals. If Nadal wins the title, he will get to 21 before Djokovic or Roger Federer.

Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed who crushed Djokovic in the U.S. Open final last fall to spoil his bid to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the calendar slam, is the betting favorite.

“It’s very clear that Novak Djokovic is one of the best players of the history without a doubt but there is no one player in the history that is more important than an event,” said Nadal.

“So if he is playing finally, OK. If he is not playing, Australian Open will be a great Australian Open with or without him.”