Novak Djokovic court hearing ends, exemption ‘was VALID’, Kyrgios blasts Nadal

Wiiander ‘shocked’ by Novak deportation

Seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander is ‘shocked and surprised’ at Novak Djokovic’s deportation.

Swede Wilander acknowledged Djokovic’s resilience in twice appealing against his visa being cancelled on the even of the Australian Open

Djokovic, 34, is ‘extremely disappointed’ after three Federal Court judges upheld Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision to boot him out

And Wilander told Eurosport: “I’m surprised and I’m shocked.

“I’m a little bit exhausted as well because we have been hearing about this for a week.”

Murray slams ‘mess’

Andy Murray wants no repeat of the Novak Djokovic spectacle in tennis ever again.

The Brit said: “It feels everything here happened extremely last minute and that’s why it became such a mess.

“Hopefully that won’t be the case at other events so there is no other situation like this.

“I wouldn’t want that for Novak, don’t want that for tennis and hopefully it is done now.”

Novak family upset

Djokovic’s family have expressed their disappointment after the world No.1 was deported from Down Under.

A family statement read: “We are very disappointed by a federal court ruling and the fact that Novak has to leave Australia.

“These are difficult moments, notably for Novak, but what we all have to do -namely us, his family – is to give him support more than ever.”

‘Nearly 100 percent’

Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed that he’s nearly back to his best as he aims to lift the Australian Open in Djokovic’s absence.

Speaking before the tournament starts tomorrow, he said: “I feel very good with my arm, which is very nice to know. It seems that I am very close to 100%.

“Little by little and over the training I feel better. I have trained with many tennis players over the past few days.

“The weather has been very nice which helps a lot for the Australian Open. We already know how harsh the humidity and heat are at this time of year.”

Hublot stand by Djokovic

Swiss watchmakers and Djokovic’s sponsors Hublot have announced that they plan to stick by the tennis star despite his woes.

A spokeswoman told France 24: “Novak Djokovic is his own man. We cannot comment on his decisions.

“Hublot will continue its partnership with the world number one in tennis.”

The luxury brand just signed a contract with Djokovic last year.

Simply the best

Twitter users blasted Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic for praising fellow countryman Djokovic.

Following Djokovic’s removal from Australia, Milivojevic aimed a dig towards the media for pushing a false narrative about Djokovic alongside a post listing the world no.1’s achievements.

The Palace star also wrote ‘simply the best’ above his post to the dismay of several Twitter users who told him he should be more responsible.

‘Like NATO bombings”

Djokovic’s fellow Serbian and ex-tennis star Bojana Jovanovski has compared the world No.1’s treatment to the NATO bombing spree their country had to endure when both stars were kids.

She wrote n a passion-filled open letter following Djokovic’s removal from Down Under: “We have experienced various kinds of injustice, at least through our childhood.

“Bombs were thrown by world powers at civilian facilities in our city and our youngest fellow citizens and friends were killed.

“Now the world’s powerful are putting pressure on you to give up, because in other [ways] – in a fair and sporty way – no one can defeat you.

“Success is something they obviously don’t want to forgive you for.”

‘It was a fair decision’

Mats Wilander thinks it’s fair that Djokovic was deported from Australia considering all the deaths that have occurred globally due to Covid.

He told Eurosport: “Do I think it’s fair? Well I think it’s fair – millions of people have died from Covid around the world.

“Australia has decided to go into full lockdown for most of the time, Australians have been suffering both mentally and physically of course like everybody else, so I think in the end Novak tried everything he could and I think it was very difficult to go back on what they said at first.”

‘He’ll never be the same’

Tennis coach Radmilo Armenulic fears Djokovic never be the same mentally after his battle with the Australian government.

Armenulic isn’t optimistic that the world No.1 will perform well at future events as he deals with the psychological scars left from the vaccine saga.

He said: “Novak is extremely ill-treated, so much so that it will affect his mental and physical condition.

“Especially the next tournaments are in danger. I’m not very optimistic.”

No more mess

Andy Murray wants no repeat of the Djokovic spectacle in tennis ever again.

The Brit said: “It feels everything here happened extremely last minute and that’s why it became such a mess.

“Hopefully that won’t be the case at other events so there is no other situation like this.

“I wouldn’t want that for Novak, don’t want that for tennis and hopefully it is done now.”

Djokovic’s family disappointment

Djokovic’s family have expressed their disappointment after the world No.1 was deported from Down Under.

A family statement read: “We are very disappointed by a federal court ruling and the fact that Novak has to leave Australia.

“These are difficult moments, notably for Novak, but what we all have to do -namely us, his family – is to give him support more than ever.”

‘A dangerous liar’

Actress Mia Farrow has slammed Djokovic for intentionally exposing people to Covid.

She also branded the Serb a ‘dangerous liar’ along with the other ‘entitled and selfish’ people who haven’t taken the vaccine.

Australian Open odds

Following Djokovic’s deportation from Australia, Danill Medvedev has took the Serb’s spot as the favourite to win the Australian Open.

Betfair have placed Medvedev 7/5 favourite to win the competition.

And Betfair have also got Alexander Zverev at 11/4 and Rafael Nadal at 13/2 as the other contenders to win a Grand Slam title in Melbourne.

Sad day in tennis

Tennis ace Sergiy Stakhovsky has called today a very sad day in the sport following Djokovic’s deportation from Australia.

He also claimed politics beat common sense as Djokovic was targeted for his beliefs.

‘Where’s sports’ major figures?’

Welsh comedian Abi Roberts has called out sport’s major figures for not publicly showing support to Djokovic.

She also labelled Australia’s government as ‘fascists’

Lineker makes Djokovic dig

Gary Lineker couldn’t resist taking a cheeky dig at Djokovic after he was deported from Australia.

Lineker wrote on Twitter. “Game, set and despatch.”

Caruso speaks on replacing Djokovic

Djokovic’s ‘lucky loser’ replacement for the Australian Open Salvatore Caruso has spoken out about taking the world No.1’s spot.

The Italian revealed his pride at being given the opportunity to play in the competition.

And he also expressed his hopes that Djokovic will return to the sport soon.

Political games

Vasek Pospisil who founded the Professional Tennis Players’ Association with Djokovic has claimed the Serb was kicked out of Australia for political reasons.

The Australian elections are coming up and Posposil reckons Djokovic was used to win votes.

The Canadian said: “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.”

Hawke releases statement

Alex Hawke has released a statement confirming that Djokovic has left Australia.

The Immigration Minister also reiterated his stance that he removed Djokovic in the public’s best interest.

‘Greatest shame in sporting history’

Several media outlets have labelled Djokovic’s deportation as the greatest shame in sport’s history.

According to sueddeutsche, one publication said: “”The court has decided: Deportation for Novak!

The greatest shame in the history of sport happened in Melbourne! Shame on you, Australia! The law has lost, politics has triumphed.”

While another fumed: “A shame like you’ve never seen before! Djokovic will be deported, he will not play at the Australian Open.”

And a third raged: “Shaken like never before! Disappointed ‘Nole’ spoke up in court after defeat. He makes no secret of his grief.”

‘They tried to kill him’

Djokovic’s father Srdjan has likened his son’s treatment by the Australian government to an ‘assassination attempt’.

He also claimed that the attempt to ‘murder’ Novak has come to an end with a volley of ‘bullets’ in the world No.1’s chest.

But Srdjan suggested that fans can expect to see his son at the French Open this summer.

He ranted: “The attempt to assassinate the best athlete in the world has ended. 50 bullets in Novak’s chest. See you in Paris.”

Google explodes

Djokovic’s deportation reportedly caused Google searches for ‘cancel Australian visa’ to sky-rocket by 1,145% globally.

According to www.immigrationlawyers-london.com, the whopping figure is 11 times higher than the average voulume in the week during the rulings.

And this showed an unprecedented spike in the amount of people Googling the term.

Djokovic flight ‘most tracked’

Djokovic’s finally set off from Australia and is headed to Dubai for a stop.

And it’s been revealed by Flight 24 that his flight number EK409 became the most tracked flight on their site just ONE MINUTE after turning on the transponder.

‘I felt like a criminal’

Czech doubles player Renata Voracova claims she was made to feel like a criminal after being deported from Australia just like Djokovic for the same reason.

Voracova was initially allowed to enter Australia on a medical exemption granted after she had an adverse reaction to a Covid infection and even played in a tournament in Melbourne.

However, just like they did with Djokovic, the Aussie government had a change of heart and decided to boot Voracova out on Saturday.

And she said about her experience to BBC Russia: “I felt a little bit like a criminal, but there was no reason why I should feel like that.

“I sent all the documents. They were approved. If I knew there would be even a 1% chance of something not being right, I wouldn’t go.”

Djokovic’s replacement for Open

Djokovic’s last-minute replacement for the Australian Open will be Italian Salvatore Caruso.

The world No.1’s omission from the tournament has opened the door for a ‘lucky loser’ from the qualifying stages to take his place, the Nigerian Guardian report.

And the opportunity’s fallen to 29-year-old Caruso whose ranked 150 in the world.

However, unlike Djokovic, Caruso won’t get to play on the main show court.