Djokovic: “My deportation from Australia was hard to digest”

“It wasn’t easy to digest what happened (for a while) 12 months ago,” Djokovic said at a press conference broadcast on Channel Nine in Adelaide, and before he entered a tournament before the first Grand Slam of the season.

The tennis player, who was held for days at a Melbourne hotel in January this year, emphasized: Such situations are remembered for a lifetime.despite stating that “valuable learning experience”.

“Same time, I had to move on, and this event and these circumstances will not replace my experience in Melbourne. (previously) and in Australia throughout my career,” added the nine-time Australian Open winner, seeking his twenty-second Grand in that number.

“Obviously (it happened) It’s disappointing to leave the country like this. “It’s a country where I’ve had tremendous success in my career, especially in Melbourne,” Djokovic told the media.

In the wake of this controversial event that has garnered international media attention, the fifth noise in the world continues to confirm that it feels good to return to Australia, a country with strong ties and hoping to have “a new wonderful (Australia) summer.” .

The Serbian athlete said Djokovic, one of his favorites to win the Australian Open, which kicks off on January 16, arrived in ocean country early Tuesday night to get in top form for the tournament.

“Coming to Australia is a challenge because of the time zone (and therefore), I did something different and arrived earlier than usual. “My goal is to reach the top (of the game) in Melbourne: that’s where I want to play best,” Djokovic said.

A media expulsion

In January 2022, aiming to defend his headquarters in Melbourne, Djokovic was detained by immigration police when he arrived in Australia. questioning the validity of the health waiver claiming to have recently beaten covid-19He decided to be deported on the grounds that he violated the measures taken against the epidemic.

At the beginning of the year, the ocean country required travelers wishing to enter the country to have the full schedule of the covid-19 vaccine or a valid receipt.

The athlete, who was locked up in an immigration-protected hotel, objected to the authorities’ decision, but after an intense legal battle, the general assembly of the Australian Federal Court decided that the player’s presence in the country posed a health risk. and order publicly.

Authorities deport Djokovic hours before 2022 Australian Open and was banned from entering the country for three years, a move the legal team managed to reverse in November, arguing that the ocean country had already lifted all restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

The Djokovic scandal comes at a time when Australia is facing a significant increase in Covid-19 cases, with its borders gradually reopened in November 2021 after nearly two years of strict lockdown.