WTA ATP Aus Open 1/17 - 1/30 2022

[oliver0001]

‘Leader of the free world’: Father’s impassioned support for Djokovic

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/ ... 59m96.html

(I refuse to read the artcile myself because this is such BS…)

[Deuce]

This is an interesting article... It includes Nadal's and Sandgren's perspectives on the Djokovic situation, as well as more detailed crazy rantings from the father of 'Spartacus' himself...

Various Perspectives on the Djokovic Situation...
(If you get a notice to create an account which prevents the entire article from being seen, simply reload the page and stop it from loading before loading is complete - that way you'll see the entire article.)

Meanwhile, reports are saying that police presence is increasing outside the hotel where he's being detained because the number of protesters is increasing (again - not sure if the protesters are pro-Djokovic or anti-Djokovic or a mix of both).

[mick1303]

These anti-Djokovic protesters are in fact cowards who put up with draconian measures their authorities inflict on them and vent their frustration in the "safe" direction.

[the Moz]

If the state of Victoria granted Novax a medical exemption on the basis of something that violated federal law then he should be kicked out. Novax and his team clearly did their work at the state level, but perhaps not so much at the federal level.

[Owendonovan]

‘Leader of the free world’: Father’s impassioned support for Djokovic

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/ ... 59m96.html

(I refuse to read the artcile myself because this is such BS…)

“My son Novak Djokovic has shown that a small, but heroic country like Serbia, can have the best tennis player and sportsman of all time and that truth can no longer be hidden,”
Genocide is not heroic.
No one but a Serbian considers Novax the best sportsman of all time.
These anti-vaxxer types read more like mentally ill than anything.

[meganfernandez]

I would not rule out that he could quarantine for 2 weeks and play - if he is allowed to remain in the country and not have to leave and return, since it would be too late after Monday's court hearing (and honestly that would be silly). Question is, would he do it? I think he would.

Very curious if it's true than anyone who wanted an exemption for having had Covid recently still had to have one shot already. If the Australian Open/Tiley knew that (and reports are he was told twice), then wtf? Why was Djokovic's exemption approved? Surely the medical review boards knew this.

[atlpam]

I would not rule out that he could quarantine for 2 weeks and play - if he is allowed to remain in the country and not have to leave and return, since it would be too late after Monday's court hearing (and honestly that would be silly). Question is, would he do it? I think he would.

Very curious if it's true than anyone who wanted an exemption for having had Covid recently still had to have one shot already. If the Australian Open/Tiley knew that (and reports are he was told twice), then wtf? Why was Djokovic's exemption approved? Surely the medical review boards knew this.

Really puts the whole medical review board process in question (does that surprise anyone here?). Were they just taking the info provided on good faith or actually making an attempt to verify it? From what I read, it sounds like they were applying an exemption policy for Australian residents that does not apply for others trying to enter the country.

[ponchi101]

But he will not only be a hero in Serbia. He will become the face of the anti-vax movement, and for some people like Sandgren, a "hero" for his strong stance. He will become the poster boy for anti-science (he has made many other ridiculous statements) and since these kind of people are so bad at analysis, they will truly believe that Australis is at fault here.
This entire morality play is larger than what it seems. It is truly an analysis of a world where truth and misinformation co-exist, and people like Novax or Aaron Rodgers can live in bubbles of verifiable ignorance (for us the rest) and be extremely successful.

[ponchi101]

Novax's dad is truly unique. When he gets named, by Novax, Minister of the Interior in Serbia, there will be some real, unsavory changes.
(I am still banking on Novax becoming president of Serbia by age 45, with no prior experience on anything other than hitting a fluffy yellow ball).

[dmforever]

Novax's dad is truly unique. When he gets named, by Novax, Minister of the Interior in Serbia, there will be some real, unsavory changes.
(I am still banking on Novax becoming president of Serbia by age 45, with no prior experience on anything other than hitting a fluffy yellow ball).

He will join an illustrious list of people with zero governing experience becoming high=level politicians. Arnold was governor of California, and I think California's economy is bigger than Serbia's. Then there was Reagan. And Trump. (insert barf emoji here). In the 80's Italy had a porn actor in their parliament. I'm sure there are others. It's bizarre, isn't it, that people conflate a very specific skill set and fame with ability to work in a government.

Kevin

[ponchi101]

Novax's dad is truly unique. When he gets named, by Novax, Minister of the Interior in Serbia, there will be some real, unsavory changes.
(I am still banking on Novax becoming president of Serbia by age 45, with no prior experience on anything other than hitting a fluffy yellow ball).

He will join an illustrious list of people with zero governing experience becoming high=level politicians. Arnold was governor of California, and I think California's economy is bigger than Serbia's. Then there was Reagan. And Trump. (insert barf emoji here). In the 80's Italy had a porn actor in their parliament. I'm sure there are others. It's bizarre, isn't it, that people conflate a very specific skill set and fame with ability to work in a government.

Kevin

La Cicciolina. And she was actually very good at her job (I mean in parliament). I seem to recall that one time, when some heated debate took place, and she stood firm, she was asked why she was so calm, and replied along the lines of "What can they do to me? Call me a whore?". And she laughed.
But she is the exception.

[dmforever]

Novax's dad is truly unique. When he gets named, by Novax, Minister of the Interior in Serbia, there will be some real, unsavory changes.
(I am still banking on Novax becoming president of Serbia by age 45, with no prior experience on anything other than hitting a fluffy yellow ball).

He will join an illustrious list of people with zero governing experience becoming high=level politicians. Arnold was governor of California, and I think California's economy is bigger than Serbia's. Then there was Reagan. And Trump. (insert barf emoji here). In the 80's Italy had a porn actor in their parliament. I'm sure there are others. It's bizarre, isn't it, that people conflate a very specific skill set and fame with ability to work in a government.

Kevin

La Cicciolina. And she was actually very good at her job (I mean in parliament). I seem to recall that one time, when some heated debate took place, and she stood firm, she was asked why she was so calm, and replied along the lines of "What can they do to me? Call me a whore?". And she laughed.
But she is the exception.

You nailed it. Well done! She was also Jeffrey Koons's wife for a while. I don't remember her being thought of as doing a good job, but I'll take your word for it.

Now that I think about about it, there is at least one US Congressperson now who was in the NFL. I don't remember who he is though. I still think it's weird. I guess people don't have the time or inclination to really figure out who to vote for, so they go with someone whose name they recognize.

Kevin

[dmforever]

I'm still trying to understand the details of what happened in Australia. So Novax applied for a visa, and the state government gave him the visa. Is that right? How does that even happen? I've never heard of anything abut a national government being in charge of visas. Or did people in the state government erroneously tell him that he would get it? Is it even known exactly what happened?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin

[meganfernandez]

I'm still trying to understand the details of what happened in Australia. So Novax applied for a visa, and the state government gave him the visa. Is that right? How does that even happen? I've never heard of anything abut a national government being in charge of visas. Or did people in the state government erroneously tell him that he would get it? Is it even known exactly what happened?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin

I think the state govt gave him the medical exemption. I assume all visas are federally issued. But here's what my friend said about working for the State Department in foreign countries:

"A visa is never a guarantee to enter a country. When i was an FSO, plenty of people we gave visas to got turned around at the border. Happens when they sense a traveler is shady in one way or another. ... I got to spend two days watching the Customs/Border Patrol people question/interrogate people at Dulles airport, both in the primary booth and the secondary inspection room, where they interrogate people who are suspect. It was super interesting. At least in the U.S., they have a pretty high degree of autonomy with ordinary travelers but not with a super VIP like Djokovic. No way was that just one person's decision at the airport, or one person plus their supervisor. He was detained for more than 8 hours. During that time, the decision was obviously floated up the food chain. Who knows how high."

[ti-amie]

It seems that the letter was written by Tennis Australia itself, on its own letterhead, and signed by the Chief Medical Officer of - you guessed it - Tennis Australia.

Border Force investigating other Australian Open players after Djokovic ban
By Anthony Galloway, Paul Sakkal and Adam Cooper
Updated January 6, 2022 — 9.34pm first published at 5.48pm

Australian Border Force is investigating at least one unvaccinated tennis player and one official who have already been allowed into the country after world No.1 Novak Djokovic was sent to immigration detention and had his visa cancelled.

Federal authorities have also not ruled out banning Djokovic from entering the country for three years, as the Serbian star’s father declared his son was being held in “Australian captivity” and had become the “the symbol and the leader of the free world”.

Djokovic, who is being held at the immigration detention at the Park Hotel in Carlton, on Thursday launched a challenge in the Federal Circuit Court to Border Force’s decision, but he is facing a race against time with the Australian Open beginning on January 17.

The tennis star tried to enter Australia on Wednesday night on the basis that he had contracted COVID-19 in the past six months and therefore had a valid exemption for being unvaccinated, but this was rejected by Border Force.

The court late on Thursday ruled to grant Djokovic an interim injunction that will prevent him being deported until at least Monday while he prepares to challenge the decision to deny his entry to the country.

Barrister Christopher Tran, acting for Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, said the government did not oppose the injunction. Judge Anthony Kelly adjourned the case to be heard from 10am on Monday.

Tennis Australia claimed on Thursday that other Australian Open participants have been allowed into the country after contracting COVID in the past six months, using the same exemption that Djokovic applied for.

This prompted Border Force to launch investigations into the other player and official. Federal government sources said the two others might also fall foul of the rules, but said every case was different, and they may have other valid medical reasons for not being vaccinated.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews on Thursday confirmed Border Force was now investigating the allegations and didn’t rule out more players being sent back home.

“I’m aware of those allegations, and I can assure you that the Australian Border Force is investigating that now,” Ms Andrews told 2GB. “ABF needs the opportunity to be able to conduct its investigation. But if the evidence is not there, then they will take the appropriate action.”

Three sources familiar with Djokovic’s paperwork on arrival, speaking anonymously to detail confidential documentation, said evidence to support the player’s exemption was “minimal” and was only supported by one doctor. They said it was far less substantive than that of the other player and official who entered the country with the same vaccine exemption.

The other player and the official had more than one doctor supporting their claims of prior COVID infection, while one source said most of Djokovic’s paperwork was on a Tennis Australia letterhead. When border officials asked him and the Victorian government to supply more documentation, none was produced.

“It was totally insufficient and he couldn’t produce anything new. What else were we meant to do in the situation?” one senior Commonwealth source said.

Tennis Australia officials were privately fuming about the federal government’s decision on Thursday. One source said the move appeared to be motivated by politics and a desire to target a high-profile vaccine sceptic to boost the government’s popularity. They said Djokovic’s Instagram post and subsequent media interest sparked the federal government’s motivation to take a hard line.

“I don’t know how the feds will [address the fact that] several tennis players are already in the country with the same exemption granted to Novak,” the source said. “This looks to us like the feds are responding to the media by letting some players in but not the world No.1.”

The 20-time grand slam winner faces the prospect of being banned from Australia as a result of the visa bungle. Federal law dictates anyone whose visa is cancelled can face a ban on re-entering Australia of up to three years, though Border Force has discretion on when to apply these bans and it is unlikely to be slapped on a person who may have made unintentional errors.

The ban can be imposed if the person’s visa was cancelled because they were “considered to be a risk to the health, safety or good order of the Australian community”.

Sources confirmed that the government had not ruled out imposing the ban on Djokovic, but cautioned this would depend on how the process plays out in court and Djokovic’s next moves.

Federal health authorities told Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley on two occasions in writing that people who were not vaccinated and had contracted COVID-19 in the past six months would not be granted quarantine-free travel to Australia.

“In relation to your specific questions, I can confirm that people who contracted COVID-19 within six months and seek to enter Australia from overseas, and have not received two doses of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)-approved or TGA-recognised vaccine ... are not considered fully vaccinated,” Health Minister Greg Hunt wrote to Mr Tiley on November 29.

Tennis Australia wrote to players after receiving that advice but did not warn them about the vaccine requirement.

Djokovic’s father Srdjan Djokovic told Serbian newspaper Telegraf that his son is “tonight in Australian captivity, but he has never been more free”.

“From this moment, Novak has become the symbol and the leader of the free world, the world of the poor and disadvantaged nations and peoples,” he said.

“Tonight they can imprison him, tomorrow they can chain him, but the truth is like water and it will always find its way. ”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday night Australian time said at a press conference in Belgrade he had talked to Djokovic a second time.

Mr Vucic said Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic was pleading with Australian authorities to move the champion from “this infamous hotel to the house he has rented, so he can move around”, Serbian media reported.

“That’s what Novak has requested from his country and it is our duty to safeguard our citizens,” President Vucic said.

“It’s not fair that a political chase is happening headed by the Prime Minister of Australia. They have allowed in similar players, but not Novak Djokovic. It is clear to everyone what is happening. I am not one to mince words, I am not afraid of speaking the truth. My job is to shield the citizens of Serbia and the truth.“

Djokovic’s visa was approved in November as part of an automated process.

Former deputy secretary of the Department of Immigration, Abul Rizvi, on Thursday said immigration authorities should have asked Djokovic questions about his vaccination status, and any exemptions he might have been seeking, when he initially applied for a visa.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the visa approval process was separate from other requirements for entry at the border such as proving vaccination status.

“People try to run the border all the time, by the way,” Mr Morrison said.

“You know, people come with a visa but may not satisfy other requirements for entry, and people are put on planes and turned back all the time. Anybody who’s watched the Border Patrol shows will understand that.”

By about 9.15pm a group of about 20 people remained at a park close to the Park Hotel in Carlton, where Djokovic is being detained, to show their support for the tennis great, with some wearing traditional Serbian dress, waving Serbian flags and lighting up candles and singing to celebrate Orthodox Christmas Eve.

The hotel, in Melbourne’s inner north, is being used to detain refugees and people seeking asylum. A small group of about a dozen protesters staged a demonstration at the hotel on Thursday afternoon in an attempt to bring attention to the plight of the detainees.

The area of Swanston Street close to the hotel remained closed to traffic in both directions on Thursday evening as supporters waited to catch a glimpse of the tennis star through the hotel windows.

With Marta Pascual Juanola

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/fede ... 59md5.html