Novak Djokovic was left all alone in an airport in Melbourne overnight, where he was caught in a controversy regarding his vaccine exemption. The political maelstrom that has cropped up is between the Serbian government and the Australian government, about whether the latter would honor the vaccine exemption of World No.1, or send him packing due to a blunder in his visa.
The star Tennis player, who is seeking his 21st Grand Slam win at the Australian open, touched down at the Tullamarine airport in Melbourne at 11.30 pm local time after a 14-hour flight from Dubai.
Novak Djokovic Held Up in Australia
But Novak Djokovic was still waiting for permission to step inside the country after it came about that his team had already applied for a visa that would not allow for any form of medical exemptions- be it legitimate or otherwise. This prompted the state government of Victoria- which would be hosting the Australian Open, to say that it would not be supporting the application of Djokovic, which further puts his fate in the hands of the national government and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
This sudden move by the government of Australia to potentially block Novak Djokovic from stepping into the country due to a mistake made on his visa form has threatened to cause controversy between Canberra and Belgrade. Aleksandar Vucic, the president of Serbia, stated that he had just finished a telephonic conversation with the legendary tennis player. He told him that the whole country was behind him, and the government was doing its best to see that the harassment of the world’s best tennis player was stopped immediately.
According to Serbia media, the president has also summoned the Australian ambassador in Belgrade, and demanded that they release Novak Djokovic so that he is rested and fit enough to play.
