AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Key moments in Novak Djokovic’s Australian saga
World tennis number one Novak Djokovic’s bid to win a record-breaking 21 men’s Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open without a COVID-19 vaccination hangs in the balance after Australia cancelled his visa for a second time on public health grounds.
Here is a summary of key dates in the developing saga:
- Dec 16: Djokovic tested positive for coronavirus, according to his affidavit to the Australian federal court. His accompanying PCR result by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia shows he was tested at 1:05 p.m. and the result time as 8:19 p.m.
- Dec 17: The tennis star said he attended a charity event in Belgrade and social media posts show him maskless handing out awards to children. He said in a statement on Wednesday he did not get his PCR result until after the event. He said a rapid antigen test he took beforehand was negative.
- Dec 18: Djokovic broke Serbia’s isolation rules for a photoshoot and interview with L’Equipe newspaper. He said in his statement that he “felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Equipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down.”
- Dec 22: He received a negative PCR result from the Institute of Public Health of Serbia, according to court documents.
- Dec 24-25: Djokovic was seen in Belgrade, according to two eyewitness accounts to Reuters. A video posted on social media on Christmas Day showed him playing street tennis in Belgrade.
- Dec 30: Tennis Australia informed the world number one that he was granted a temporary medical exemption from the country’s vaccine requirements on the grounds of previous infection. In a letter dated Dec. 30, Australian Open organizers said this was granted by a panel of medical experts and reviewed by the state government of Victoria, where the tournament is held.
- Jan 1: Djokovic told his agent to fill out his travel declaration to enter Australia. The declaration stated that he had not traveled in the 14 days prior to his expected departure from Spain on Jan 4. The Department of Home Affairs advised the agent that Djokovic met the requirements for quarantine-free arrival in Australia. The player later admitted the immigration form had contained an error in not saying he had traveled between Serbia and Spain in the 14 days before he departed.
- Jan 2: Djokovic was issued with a border travel permit by the Victorian government. He was seen greeting a fan on video in Marbella, Spain.
- Jan 4: “I’m heading Down Under with an exemption,” Djokovic announced to the world in an Instagram post shortly before flying from Spain via Dubai to Melbourne. The impending arrival of the vaccine sceptic prompted a huge backlash in Australia, which has undergone some of the world’s toughest COVID-19 lockdowns and where hospitalisation rates have hit a record high.
- Jan 5: Djokovic touched down at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport at 11:30 p.m.
- Jan 6: Australia’s Border Force detained the tennis star in a room at the airport overnight, denying him permission to enter the country and notifying him of their intention to remove him. The Serbian president objected to Canberra.
- Jan 7: Djokovic faced 72 hours over the Orthodox Christmas holed up in a hotel for asylum seekers after a court agreed to hear his appeal against his canceled visa.
- Jan 10: In a virtual court hearing that saw pranksters hijack the live stream and protesters pepper sprayed outside his lawyers office, Djokovic was freed from detention. A judge quashed the government’s decision to cancel his visa on the grounds it was unreasonable. Australian immigration minister Alexander Hawke said he would weigh the use of personal powers to deport him anyway. Just after midnight, Djokovic tweeted a photo of himself practicing at Rod Laver arena.
- Jan 11: Social media posts and eyewitness accounts to Reuters contradicted Djokovic’s immigration form declaration that he did not travel for 14 days before entering the country.
- Jan 12: Djokovic posted a statement on Instagram apologising for the mistake on the form and for leaving quarantine to do a photoshoot with L’Equipe.
- Jan 13: Djokovic was included in the Australian Open draw as top seed.
- Jan 14: Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to cancel Djokovic’s visa for a second time, saying he may pose a health risk.
- Jan 15: Djokovic returned to the immigration detention hotel where he was previously held.
- Jan 16: A Federal Court panel is to hear Djokovic’s appeal of his visa refusal from 9:30 a.m. (2230 GMT Saturday). The decision of the three-judge panel will be final, the court said.
- -Reuters
Jannik Sinner retained his Australian Open title with an emphatic 6-3 7-6(4) 6-3 win over Alexander Zverev on Sunday, breaking new ground for Italian tennis and leaving his German rival smarting after a third Grand Slam final defeat.
The world number one became Italy’s first player to win three Grand Slam crowns, moving past Nicola Pietrangeli who won back-to-back men’s titles at Roland Garros in 1959-60.
A year after mowing down Daniil Medvedev in five sets for his first major trophy, Sinner sapped his second Melbourne Park final of all drama as he wore down Zverev with suffocating pressure and claimed the match with clinical execution.
The one-sided win in the floodlit Rod Laver Arena underlined the 23-year-old’s status as the game’s pre-eminent hardcourt player , if robbing fans of a proper contest.
“It was an amazing performance from my side,” he said. “I want to enjoy this one. This one has a different feeling (and) means so much to me.”
For all Sinner’s joy, a long-standing doping case continues to hang over his head.
Though cleared to play by tennis authorities, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is seeking a ban which could derail his French Open plans. A hearing is set for April.
A ban may be the only way to stop Sinner, given how impervious he has been to the distractions.
Sunday’s win extended the U.S. Open champion’s winning streak to 21 matches.
“Many, many things happen off the court, what you maybe don’t know,” he said.
“When I go on the court, even if sometimes it’s very difficult to block these kind of things, I have the team and people who are close to me who trust me.”
For Zverev, the result was another bitter blow , his third defeat in three Grand Slam finals leaving him in tears.
His miserable night was compounded by a heckler in the crowd who made reference to domestic violence allegations he faced in recent years.
“First of all, it sucks standing here next to this thing and not being able to touch it,” the red-eyed German said of the winner’s Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
“Congrats to Jannik, you’re the best player in the world by far. I was hoping that I could be more of a competitor today but you’re too good.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to lift the trophy but I’ll keep coming back, I’ll keep trying.”
ZVEREV SMASHES RACKET
The match was all but over when Zverev dropped serve in the sixth game of the third set.
Arguably, the German’s spirit was broken before that by an unlucky net cord that turned the second-set tiebreak in Sinner’s favour.
It was 4-4 in the tiebreak when Sinner fired into the net cord and saw the ball dribble over.
Sinner thumped down a huge serve to raise two set points and converted the first, going for broke from the baseline with a furious forehand that kissed the line.
A gutted Zverev smashed his racket as he returned to his chair with the match slipping away.
There would be no last stand from him, nor any wobble from Sinner who did not cough up a single break point in the match.
Sinner sealed the win with a backhand passing shot on the first match point and celebrated by clambering into the terraces to embrace his entourage.
For Zverev, the wait for a maiden Grand Slam title will go on after he finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at last year’s French Open and gave up a two-set lead in defeat to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 U.S. Open decider.
There was more sourness as he went to the microphone to congratulate Sinner, with a person in the crowd yelling repeatedly: ‘Australia believes Olga and Brenda’.
In June last year, Zverev’s lawyers said he had agreed a settlement after the mother of his child, Brenda Patea, accused him of physical abuse and a German court closed the case.
Zverev repeatedly rejected the allegations by Patea.
In January 2023, the ATP, citing insufficient evidence, closed an investigation that had been launched after another ex-girlfriend, tennis player Olga Sharypova, accused Zverev of domestic abuse.
Asked about the heckler, Zverev said: “I believe there are no more accusations. There haven’t been for, what, nine months now.
“I think I’ve done everything I can and I’m not about to open that subject again.”
-Reuters
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Top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend claimed the women’s doubles crown at the Australian Open on Sunday after beating Jelena Ostapenko and Hsieh Su-wei 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3 in a gruelling final.
The victory at Rod Laver Arena gave Siniakova and Townsend their second Grand Slam title after their Wimbledon triumph last year while it was the 10th major title for Czech Siniakova, the doubles world number one.
“Big thanks goes to Taylor, we are having fun and that’s the most important, so thank you for playing with me. I’m really enjoying it,” Siniakova said after lifting the trophy with her American partner.
For Townsend, the win was a full-circle moment in her career after she won the title as a junior in Melbourne in 2012.
“This is super special to me, the last time I played on this court I was 15,” she said.
“This tournament was the start of me being able to live out my dream. I honestly didn’t think that it was possible for me to be playing on this stage.”
Siniakova and Townsend had several opportunities to break early on and finally converted a break point to go 2-1 up as Hsieh and Ostapenko struggled with their serve.
The third seeds quickly found themselves 5-1 down as Siniakova and Townsend consolidated a double break before the American sealed the set with an emphatic volley at the net.
After they traded early breaks in the second set, Townsend was once again effective at the net with an overhead smash that gave them a 4-3 lead before Siniakova held her serve to put them one game away from the title.
But Ostapenko and Hsieh, playing in just their second tournament as a pairing, broke back in the 10th game when Townsend served for the title.
A frustrated Siniakova threw her racket on the ground before the third seeds won the tiebreak and forced a decider. The Czech then lost her composure and was broken in the first game of the third set with three double faults.
But they quickly regrouped to break back and Siniakova converted a crucial break point to go 5-3 up.
This time, Siniakova served for the title, and despite another double fault with three championship points, they sealed victory when Townsend fired a volley at the net down the middle to win in two hours and 27 minutes.
“I think for our second tournament, playing a Grand Slam final is not bad,” Ostapenko said.
“Together, I hope there are many more trophies for us.”
-Reuters
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Novak Djokovic retired injured after losing the first set 7-6(5) against Alexander Zverev on Friday to put the German through to his first Australian Open final and extend his wait for a record 25th Grand Slam title.
Zverev will meet either Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton in Sunday’s decider as he bids for his first Grand Slam title, but Djokovic will remain locked with Margaret Court on 24 major trophies until at least the French Open.
There were doubts about Djokovic’s left thigh following his taxing quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz when he took a lengthy medical timeout after the first set against the Spaniard.
The 37-year-old Serb skipped a training session on the eve of the semi-final and entered Rod Laver Arena for the afternoon match with the thigh strapped.
But there was little indication he was struggling until late in the set when he began trudging slowly between points and muttering in frustration at his players’ box.
He gave up the set by hammering a regulation forehand volley into the net and promptly walked to Zverev’s side to shake hands and embrace the German, leaving the crowd gasping.
With a rueful expression, Djokovic held two thumbs up and clapped at the terraces but there was a round of boos as the 10-times champion made his exit.
Djokovic later said he had been trying to nurse a torn muscle and he was in increasing pain as the set wore on.
“I knew even if I won the first set, that it’s going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies, you know, for another God knows what, two, three, four hours,” the Serb told reporters.
“I don’t think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank.”
‘SHOW SOME RESPECT’
Zverev said he was also surprised by Djokovic’s retirement but noted the Serb’s movement had fallen away in the tiebreak.
“I thought it was a high level first set,” he added.
“Of course there are some difficulties … in the tiebreak he was not moving. I did see him struggle a bit more.”
Zverev also admonished sections of the crowd for jeering Djokovic, who has dominated the year’s opening Grand Slam since winning his first trophy at Melbourne Park in 2008.
“The very first thing I want to say is, please guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,” Zverev said.
“I know everyone paid for tickets and everyone wants to see hopefully a great five-set match.
“But … Novak Djokovic is someone who has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.
“He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, won this tournament with a hamstring injury.
“So please show some respect.”
The truncated semi-final win is a huge boost for Zverev’s hopes of finally winning a Grand Slam, having missed out to Alcaraz in last year’s French Open final and surrendering a two-set lead before losing to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 U.S. Open decider.
The rangy 27-year-old has been tipped for Grand Slam success since his teen years but was often thwarted by the likes of Djokovic and the now-retired Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.
Zverev was strong on serve on Friday and appeared content to wage attritional rallies with the Serb while biding his time for chances.
Though failing to convert all five break points he had over Djokovic, Zverev was rock-solid in the tiebreak.
He thrashed a forehand down the line to bring up set point with a 24th winner before Djokovic made his stunning exit, a year after being shocked by Sinner in the semi-finals.
-Reuters
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