Novak Djokovic says he still experiences
"trauma" when he visits Melbourne, three years after he was deported
because of Australia's Covid-19 regulations.
Djokovic, who was not vaccinated against the virus, had
his visa cancelled by the Australian government on
"health and good order" grounds.
He was forced to stay at an immigration hotel for five days
while he unsuccessfully appealed against the decision and was eventually forced
to leave the country, meaning he missed the 2022 Australian Open.
Djokovic returned to Melbourne the following year, with
Covid restrictions eased, and went on to win the Grand Slam for a
record 10th time.
The Serb, 37, is back in Australia preparing for the 2025
tournament, which begins on Sunday.
"The last couple of times I landed in Australia, to go
through passport control and immigration - I had a bit of trauma from three
years ago," Djokovic told Melbourne's Herald Sun., external
"And some traces still stay there when I'm passing
passport control, just checking out if someone from immigration zone is approaching.
"The person checking my passport - are they going to
take me, detain me again or let me go? I must admit I have that feeling."
He added: "I don't hold a grudge. I came right away the
year after and I won.
"My parents and whole team were there and it was
actually one of the most emotional wins I've ever had, considering all that I'd
been through the year before."
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she prefers to focus on
this year's tournament.
"The responsibility of granting visas is a matter for
the federal government and those decisions were made by the federal government
at the time," said Allan, who was part of a government crisis cabinet
leading the Australian response to Covid in 2022 - but was not involved in the
Djokovic case.
"Covid was tough for all of us. It didn't matter who
you were, where you came from, Covid didn't discriminate in who it infected,
how sick it made you and how sick it made others in our community."
Australia prime minister Anthony Albanese criticised the
previous government's handling of the situation, particularly the decision to
deny Djokovic access to an Orthodox priest in the build-up to Christmas, which
is celebrated on 7 January by most Orthodox Christians.
"I made comments at the time about it. I found it
astonishing that in the lead up to Christmas, Novak Djokovic was denied by the
then federal government the opportunity to see his Orthodox minister, priest,
during that period," said Albanese, who became prime minister in May 2022.
"I think that was something that I think was hard to
justify at that time."
Djokovic is hoping to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam
title when he competes in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park next week.
