Novak Djokovic arrives in Dubai after being deported by Australia

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Novak Djokovic arrived in Dubai early Monday after being deported from Australia for a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination ended his hopes of defending his Australian Open title No. 1 male tennis player.

The Emirates plane carrying Djokovic has landed after a 13 /₂ hour flight from Melbourne, where he argued in court, he should be allowed to stay in the country and competed in the tournament under a medical exemption due to a coronavirus infection last month.

At Dubai International Airport, arriving passengers are required to wear face masks and are required to pack their bags and step out of the passenger terminal. More than an hour after Djokovic’s flight arrived, he didn’t get out of the baggage claim as many passengers from his plane picked up their luggage on the carousel.

It’s not clear where Djokovic plans to go next. The Dubai Duty Free tennis tournament, which Djokovic won in 2020, will run until February 14.

Dubai, the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates, does not require travelers to be vaccinated, although they must present a negative PCR test in order to board.

Djokovic has won nine Australian Open titles, including three in a row and a total of 20 Grand Slam singles titles, tying rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal the most in men’s tennis history. Federer did not compete during his recovery from injury, and Nadal was the only former Australian Open men’s singles champion at the tournament which began Monday.

Djokovic’s visa was initially canceled on January 6 by a border official who decided he was not eligible for a medical exemption under Australia’s regulations for unvaccinated travelers. He was exempt from the tournament’s vaccine regulations because he had been infected with the virus within the previous six months.

He won an appeal to stay in the tournament, but Australia’s immigration minister later revoked his visa. Three Federal Court judges unanimously decided on Sunday to assert the Immigration Minister’s right to revoke Djokovic’s visa.

Vaccination during a pandemic is mandatory for everyone at the Australian Open, whether the players, their coach or anyone at the venue. More than 95 percent of all the top 100 men and women in their respective travel charts have been vaccinated. At least two men – American Tennys Sandgren and Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert – skipped the first major tournament of the year due to vaccine requirements.

Djokovic’s attempt to get a medical exemption for not being vaccinated has sparked fury in Australia, where cities and international travel bans are strictly enforced to try to control the spread of the virus. spread of the coronavirus since the pandemic began.