Anthony Albanese takes Novak Djokovic’s side after tennis legend revealed his trauma surrounding Melbourne Covid nightmare in 2022
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared Novak Djokovic’s treatment by the former federal government was ‘astonishing’ after the tennis superstar revealed the trauma he still endures surrounding his Melbourne Covid nightmare in 2022.
Then immigration minister Alex Hawke infamously denied Djokovic entry into the country three years ago because he was not fully vaccinated.
Djokovic was detained at Melbourne’s Park Hotel for five days as he challenged the decision before he was sent home.
‘I made comments about it at the time,’ Albanese told reporters.
‘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.
‘That was something that I think was hard to justify.’
Anthony Albanese has declared Novak Djokovic’s treatment by the former federal government was ‘astonishing’ (the PM is pictured right, at the 2024 Australian Open men’s singles final with partner Jodie Haydon)
It comes after the tennis superstar revealed the trauma he still feels following his Melbourne Covid nightmare in 2022
It comes as Djokovic revealed the ‘trauma’ he faces whenever he visits Melbourne after being detained and deported during the Covid crisis – before getting a stern response from the Victorian Premier.
Although the Serbian superstar has played some of his greatest tennis in Australia, he recently admitted that he still feels uneasy whenever he sets foot in Melbourne – the city with the longest coronavirus lockdowns in the world.
Djokovic was forced to leave Australia just days before he was scheduled to walk on court as the defending Australian Open champion in January 2022 because he entered the country unvaccinated during pandemic border restrictions.
‘I have to be quite frank,’ he told the Herald Sun.
‘The last couple of times that I landed in Australia, to go through passport control and immigration – I had a bit of trauma from three years ago.
‘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.’
Novak Djokovic (pictured) says he still feels ‘trauma’ whenever he visits Melbourne after being detained and deported during the Covid crisis in 2022
The tennis legend was deported after a row over his vaccination status (pictured) in tense scenes which made headlines around the world
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan reacted to Djokovic’s revelation with a blunt statement that showed him no sympathy.
‘Covid was tough for all of us. It didn’t matter who you were or what you did, it was a tough time,’ she said.
‘The pandemic is behind us and what I’m focused on is supporting a great Australian Open for 2025.
‘We are seeing thousands of visitors flock from around the world and around the country to Melbourne for the Australian Open.’
In 2023, Djokovic told Channel Nine that he felt like ‘the villain of the world’ in Melbourne, where he was detained at a hotel with asylum seekers before being deported.
‘There were two or three more people that came into Australia ten days before I did with exactly the same exemption that I had,’ he said.
‘I was just following the rules. My exemption was verified by an independent body and panel of doctors … and I came in with all the valid papers.
‘Everything got out of hand and then I was labelled as this or that. It was so big in the media that I just could not fight that, I didn’t even want to get into that.
‘I obviously wanted to stay here and play tennis, but at some point with the amount of craziness going around, I just wanted to get out and go back home.’
Premier Jacinta Allan reacted to Djokovic’s revelation about the impact of his detention and deportation with a blunt statement
Djokovic has played some of his best tennis at the Australian Open in his decorated career, winning the title a record 10 times
The saga lasted around two weeks, before Djokovic was eventually deported. Fellow superstar Rafael Nadal went onto win the tournament, and Djokovic says it took him some time to get over the ordeal.
‘I stayed for several weeks at home, didn’t really go around too much,’ he added. ‘I just hoped that the situation would calm down, which it did, but the traces stayed there.
‘The traces followed for several months after and I didn’t know if it was going to affect my game and the way I play. It was not easy for me mentally to regroup and restart again.
‘In every press conference I was asked at least one or two questions about Australia and what happened. Even if I wanted to move on, people were reminding me of that.
‘It’s still unfortunate and it hurts me that most of the people will have a wrong idea about what happened.
‘The media picked on me big time for several months and not in a positive note, so that created a lot of disturbance to my brand, to me personally and people around me.’
