(CNN)The ongoing saga surrounding Novak Djokovic’s participation in this year’s Australian Open took another turn on Friday and the world reacted to the decision to revoke the Serb’s visa for a second time.
Australia’s Immigration Minister Alex Hawke decided to cancel Djokovic’s visa again to protect the country during the pandemic and the world No. 1’s hopes of remaining in Australia hang by a thread.
After hearing about Hawke’s latest decision, British tennis star Andy Murray said the ongoing situation was unfortunate for everyone involved and urged authorities to come to a quick conclusion.
“It’s not a good situation. I’m not going to start kicking Novak while he’s down,” Murray told reporters on Friday. “It is unfortunate that it got into such a situation.
“Yeah, I just want it to be resolved obviously. I think it would be good for everyone if that were the case.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, reached his first ATP Tour final since 2019 on Friday after beating American fourth-placed Reilly Opelka at the Sydney Tennis Classic.
The Scot says the saga leading up to the first Grand Slam of the year hasn’t been a good sight for the sport.
“Not great for tennis, not great for the Australian Open, not great for Novak,” Murray added.
“It’s bad for the sport”
Many in Serbia, where less than 60% of the adult population is currently vaccinated, still support their national hero who always chose to keep his vaccination status a secret.
Former Serbian tennis player and friend of Djokovic Viktor Troicki told CNN’s Scott Mclean that the latest decision was “shocking” and “unfair”.
Troicki has featured many doubles matches alongside Djokovic and says the 20-time Grand Slam champion remains mentally strong despite the global attention.
“For 10 days already there has been a lot of speculation and a lot of different decisions being made by the Australian government and Australian law,” he said.
“It’s a lot of confusion. I think it’s more than obvious that it’s a political thing and has nothing to do with sport, which is really sad.”
“It’s really shocking, it’s bad for sport, it’s bad for tennis and I think it’s bad for Australia too.”
His former Serbian compatriot Janko Tipsarevic, who was ranked eighth in the world, was decidedly unimpressed by the events.
“Toxic shame for anyone involved in this process,” he said tweeted.
“guilt is everywhere”
Amid criticism from Djokovic’s supporters, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Hawke’s decision was to protect Australia during the pandemic.
“I understand that the minister, after careful consideration, took action to cancel Mr Djokovic’s visa for reasons of health and good order, as it was in the public interest,” he said.
“This pandemic has been incredibly difficult for every Australian but we have stuck together and saved lives and livelihoods.”
However, the decision drew criticism from former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who said Morrison’s government acted politically and distracted the public from other domestic issues.
“What a surprise! Morrison’s government is canceling #Djokovic’s visa to win the weekend media cycle – showing us all how hairy his chest is,” Rudd tweeted on Friday.
“Why on earth did they issue the visa in the first place? A major political distraction from empty shelves and a nationwide lack of boosters and RATs.”
While many around the world took sides, tennis analyst Darren Cahill, who has coached some of the world’s top players, said everyone should have their share of the blame.
“Guilt is everywhere here,” he said tweeted. “It was a mess. Novak, TA, Vic Gov, Federal Gov.
“It should have been a tough rule to set foot in this country considering what people have been through [sic].
“Get vaccinated and play AO, or if not maybe see you in 23. No leeway.”
Djokovic will be re-arrested by Australian authorities on Saturday after his visa was revoked.
His case to remain in Australia will be heard in the country’s federal court on Saturday after an emergency hearing before Judge Anthony Kelly of the Federal Circuit and Family Court on Friday.
The Australian Federal Court is a higher court than the court that Kelly presided over.
CNN’s Hannah Ritchie, Jessie Yeung and Adam Renton contributed coverage.
Add Comment