Novak Djokovic loses chance to defend Australian Open title as court upholds deportation

Novak Djokovic loses chance to defend Australian Open title as court upholds deportation
Novak Djokovic faces deportation instead of starting his Australian Open title defence on Monday, a stunning and unprecedented end to his run of success at Melbourne Park. Djokovic has won nine of his 20 Grand Slam trophies at the Australian Open — including three in a row — and was scheduled to play in the main stadium at night on Day 1 of the tournament.But the No. 1-ranked player in men's tennis now must leave the country after three federal court judges decided unanimously to uphold the immigration minister's right to cancel Djokovic's visa. Djokovic, a 34-year-old from Serbia, was trying to use a medical exemption to get around the requirements that everyone at the Australian Open — players, their support teams, spectators and others — be inoculated against COVID-19. Djokovic is not vaccinated, and the government said his presence could stir up anti-vaccine sentiments. WATCH | Djokovic says his agent made error on Australia entry form: Novak Djokovic blames human error for inaccurate travel declaration3 days agoDuration 1:52Novak Djokovic says human error is to blame for an inaccurate travel declaration form that claimed the tennis champion hadn't travelled for two weeks before arriving in Australia for an upcoming tournament in Melbourne. 1:52 Djokovic's dominance in Grand Slam play of late has been particularly impressive, winning four of the last seven major tournaments and finishing as the runner-up at two others. The only time he did not get at least to the final in that span was at the 2020 U.S. Open, where he was disqualified in the fourth round for hitting a ball that inadvertently hit a line judge in the throat after a game. On Monday, Djokovic was supposed to play another man from Serbia, Miomir Kecmanovic, in the first round of the season's opening Grand Slam tournament. Instead, Kecmanovic will face a so-called "lucky loser" — someone who loses in qualifying rounds but gets access to the main draw because someone else withdraws after the order of play for Day 1 was released. That lucky loser was not identified by tournament organizers, who also had no comment on Djokovic's appeal failure. Djokovic's visa originally was cancelled when his flight arrived in Melbourne, but that decision was overturned by a judge on procedural grounds last Monday. He spent four nights in immigration detention before the first court hearing and he was confined to an immigration hotel again on Saturday while awaiting his legal challenge. WATCH | Canadians to watch at Australian Open: Canadians to watch at the 2022 Australian Open1 day agoDuration 3:17CBC Sports' Vivek Jacob walks through the Canadian tennis stars you should be watching as they gear up to compete in the 2022 Australian Open 3:17