Category Archives: Novak Djokovic

Covid live news: French parliament approves ‘vaccine pass’ law; Italy to mandate vaccines for over 50s

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Law passes after controversy over Macron’s words on putting pressure on unvaccinated; Italy tightens vaccination rules as it reports record rise in cases

Novak Djokovic flew into Melbourne airport on Wednesday night planning to defend his Australian Open title. Instead, the World No 1 is being held in a quarantine hotel and is set to be deported tonight after a remarkable series of events led to his visa being cancelled.

So how on earth did it get to this point?

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Novak Djokovic to remain in detention during court challenge to Australian visa cancellation

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Australian Open champion is challenging his deportation after the Australian prime minister said officials were ‘following the rules’

Novak Djokovic is awaiting his Australian Open fate in a Melbourne immigration hotel as the world No 1 mounts a legal challenge against Australia’s decision to cancel his visa.

Djokovic’s lawyers succeeded in a bid to stop him from being deported on Thursday with a full hearing in the federal circuit court now scheduled for Monday.

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Novak Djokovic wins interim injunction against deportation; more than 72,000 new cases nationwide – As it happened

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Karen Andrews, home affairs minister, did give a hint of how things might play out.

AAP reports that, before Novak Djokovic’s arrival, she said that while the Victorian government and Tennis Australia may allow a non-vaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, it was the federal government that dealt with border entry requirements.

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Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open participation in doubt over visa row

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Novak Djokovic’s attempts to compete at the Australian Open this month were thrown into fresh doubt on Wednesday amid a spiralling outcry over his controversial “medical exemption” agreed by the tournament’s organisers.

The whereabouts of the world No 1 and reigning Australian champion were in doubt after he was held up at passport control at Tullamarine airport in Melbourne, the host city of the tournament, for several hours late at night.

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‘Appalling message’: outrage over Novak Djokovic’s medical exemption to play Australian Open

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Former AMA president says Djokovic shouldn’t be allowed into Australia, while fellow players express surprise at the decision

The decision to grant Novak Djokovic an exemption from Covid-19 vaccination requirements to play in the Australian Open in Melbourne has been labelled “appalling”, with some players expressing surprise at the late decision.

On Tuesday night, the defending Australian Open champion posted on Instagram that he was coming to Melbourne to participate in the tennis tournament with an “exemption permission”.

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Tennis Australia denies seeking loopholes for unvaccinated players as Novak Djokovic included in draw

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Australian Open organisers say ‘all players, participants and staff’ must be vaccinated as Djokovic, who has not revealed his vaccination status, is included in tournament draw

Tennis Australia has hit back at suggestions it is seeking to exploit a “loophole” in border entry rules so unvaccinated players can compete in the upcoming Australian Open, as it included Novak Djokovic in the draw for the January grand slam.

Djokovic’s inclusion in the tournament draw, which was released on Wednesday afternoon, followed intense speculation about the world No 1’s ability to enter the country.

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Novak Djokovic likely to skip Australian Open over vaccine mandate, says father

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  • Srdjan Djokovic equates vaccine mandate to ‘blackmail’
  • All players at staff at grand slam in Melbourne must be jabbed

Novak Djokovic is unlikely to play at the Australian Open if rules on Covid-19 vaccinations are not relaxed, the world No 1’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, said.

Organisers of the year’s first grand slam have said that all players will have to be vaccinated to take part.

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Australian Open rules Novak Djokovic and all other players must be vaccinated against Covid to play

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  • Tournament chief says all players must be vaccinated to compete
  • Craig Tiley says 80% of players are now vaccinated

World No 1 Novak Djokovic and all other players will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to compete in the Australia Open next January, tournament chief Craig Tiley said on Saturday.

Djokovic has declined to disclose whether he is vaccinated and said that he would wait until Tennis Australia revealed the health protocols before he made a decision about playing at Melbourne Park.

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Novak Djokovic v Daniil Medvedev: US Open men’s final – live!

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End second set: *Djokovic 4-6 4-6 Medvedev (* denotes next server)

A service winner and an ace put Medvedev up 30-0.

Second set: Djokovic 4-6 4-5 Medvedev* (* denotes next server)

Djokovic finally makes the “drop shot-and-volley” tactic work as it did against Zverev, though he’s a bit fortunate that Medvedev’s lob attempt is weaker than it should’ve been. Medvedev lobs again at 30-30 and doesn’t miss by much. Djokovic again gets to the net at 40-30 and is able to smash his way to a crucial hold. But can he break?

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Novak Djokovic wins sixth Wimbledon title after battle with Matteo Berrettini

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  • Serb takes his 20th tennis major title 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
  • Victory leaves Djokovic needing US Open for grand slam

Novak Djokovic has never been afraid to speak out his ambitions for the world to hear. That was true when he was a novice on the tour and to many his self-confidence was misplaced, and it has maintained deep into his 30s as he has chased down the singular goal of becoming the greatest player of his time, making no secret of what he thought he could achieve.

Over the past 13 and a half years since his marathon began with his first major title, so much of what Djokovic has meticulously planned for has and continues to be realised. On Sunday, he took one of the biggest steps of his career, recovering from a set down against a valiant Matteo Berrettini to win 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 and clinch his men’s record-equalling 20th grand slam title.

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Novak Djokovic rallies to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in epic French Open final

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  • Djokovic wins 6-7 (8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
  • Serb claims his 19th grand slam title with Paris win

After the sheer willpower and strength it took to topple Rafael Nadal on his surface and his court on Friday, Novak Djokovic was charged with returning to the scene two days later and summoning his prime form once more against the second-best clay‑courter of the season.

For a fair amount of time during this match it was reasonable to ask if this was a challenge too far, as his own waning energy and the force that is Stefanos Tsitsipas combined to create a two-set deficit for the Serb. Instead, Djokovic pulled off the type of manic recovery he has made look routine for over a decade, recovering to force five sets and eventually defeat Tsitsipas 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and win his second French Open title.

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Rafael Nadal demolishes Novak Djokovic to win 13th French Open title

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  • World No 2 thrashes No 1 seed 6-0, 6-2, 7-5
  • Spaniard equals Roger Federer’s haul of 20 grand slam titles

Novak Djokovic drove Rafael Nadal to almost unprecedented heights of excellence but was powerless to stop his old rival winning his 13th French Open and the 20th major he needed to match the record of their absent friend, Roger Federer.

Nadal’s 100th win at Roland Garros was almost flawless – 6-0, 6-1, 7-5 in two hours and 41 minutes in front of a drastically reduced audience because of the pandemic at a rescheduled grand slam under a new roof at Court Philippe Chatrier – yet it was a final of rolling contradictions, too.

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Novak Djokovic disqualified from US Open after hitting line judge with ball

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  • Title favourite defaulted during first set after losing serve
  • Player dismissed after discussions with tournament officials

Novak Djokovic was thrown out of the US Open in sensational circumstances on Sunday night when he inadvertently struck a line judge with a dead ball towards the end of the first set of his fourth-round match against the Spaniard Pablo Carreño Busta.

The world No 1, who appeared to hit the ball away casually and with no great force, was distraught as he comforted the woman after she had collapsed in a coughing fit holding her throat. He then engaged in a fruitless 10-minute discussion on court with the tournament referee, Soeren Friemel.

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Novak Djokovic will decide whether to join US Open exodus in ‘next few days’

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  • If world No 1 withdraws he will join absentees Nadal and Federer
  • Non-US players unsure on quarantine rules when heading home

Novak Djokovic will decide “in the next few days” whether or not to join the US Open champion Rafael Nadal in withdrawing from this month’s tournament.

If the world No 1 pulls out, the tournament, due to start on 31 August, will be considerably weakened, given five-times champion Roger Federer is resting after a second knee operation and several other leading players in both draws have withdrawn or expressed reservations about travelling to New York, with women’s world No 30 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova the latest player to join the list of absentees.

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Novak Djokovic tests positive for Covid-19 amid Adria Tour fallout

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  • World No 1 becomes fourth player to test positive
  • Dimitrov, Coric and Troicki revealed other positive tests

Novak Djokovic, the men’s world No 1 tennis player, has tested positive for Covid-19, the Serbian said in a statement on Tuesday.

Croatia’s Borna Coric, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Viktor Troicki have previously tested positive after playing in Djokovic’s Adria Tour exhibition tournament in the Balkan region.

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Wawrinka, Kerber, and Two Highly Rivalrous U.S. Open Finals

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Before defeating Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final yesterday, Stan Wawrinka felt nervous, "nervous like never before," he explained after the match. That morning, he had started feeling the pressure building, "the feeling of: you don't want to lose.

10 Things to Know for Wednesday

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In this photo taken Aug. 28, 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's senior aid Huma Abedin, center, departs a fundraiser at a private home in Southampton, N.Y. Abedin says she is separating from husband Anth... . Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, waves after defeating Jerzy Janowicz, of Poland, during the first round of the US Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, in New York.