2022 In Between Grand Slam Thread

redlad12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118422692#Comment_118422692

Hahahahahah

redlad12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118424649#Comment_118424649

So very unfair

yerwanthere123

Djokovic's legal team have managed to get the can kicked down the road; he's staying in Australia until Monday morning at least where a final decision will be made. You know, I've a feeling this sneaker f*cker will end up playing the Australian Open!

tiegan

And he wonders why the crowds are never behind him!! Even if he does get to play, you would imagine this would not help his mental attitude - and all self inflicted. I am not a fan of the man, but do admire his tennis!!

klr87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118424584#Comment_118424584

I'd be very wary of TA as an unbiased source, as they would desperately want Djokovic to play (stating the bleeding obvious ...)

Also, while other players successfully claimed the same exemption, we don't know if their details were different.

pjohnson

Novak has really tanked whatever remnants of a good reputation he had left during the pandemic.

Would be some tournament atmosphere if he eventually got to play with a load of local boors in the crowd channeling their pandemic frustrations at him!

State and federal politicos still pointing the finger at each other out there.

Djokovic in a hotel with refugees apparently.

josip

It's all politics at this stage, hasn't been about tennis for a while.

There's also more to the politics than just the usual whingy Australians whinging to their politicians about some new thing they've found whingeworthy.

https://firstsportz.com/tennis-novak-djokovic-backs-the-growing-protests-in-serbia-over-the-rio-tinto-mining/

The next federal elections (national Parliament) happening this year in Australia also funnily enough.

Has to be held by 21 May 2022

Ideal time to stoke up some distraction.

Remember the Depp dogs thing with that blustering muppet Barnaby (who then had to resign because he forgot to tell his wife that he got the secretary up the duff!)

Have seen comment that djokovic (as things currently stand) might have trouble playing ANY of the slams this year

Now that would really put it up to him obviously!

Under current travel rules, people must be fully vaccinated in order to enter the UK. And non-US citizens must also be fully jabbed to get into the States.

And now Macron is talking hardball in France (but apparently there is no border control from Monaco!)

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118425746#Comment_118425746

I thought England allows in unvaccinated if they quarantine somewhere for 10 days ?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19#if-you-are-not-fully-vaccinated

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118425800#Comment_118425800

Quite possibly the case. The focus was on the high- level headline of vaccine to get in straight away.

The spotlight and pressure will be on the actual tournaments themselves after this saga though of course also...

Floppybits

If Djokovic manages to stay in Australia and play in the AO can't see him winning it especially with him being holed up in a hotel for the next few days while he awaits his hearing. If he does get in can you imagine what the atmosphere will be like at his matches with the Serbian crowd that are usually there and Aussies who are not usually the most respectful of crowds.

Floppybits

Great match on at the moment between Aliassime and Zverev. 1 set all but Aliassime had his chances in the second set.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118425858#Comment_118425858

If he does get in can you imagine what the atmosphere will be like at his matches with the Serbian crowd that are usually there and Aussies who are not usually the most respectful of crowds.

I'd be surprised to see the Australians backing down (as they always keep their hackles up in these sort of situations) or their courts making a judgement in his favour but it would be absolute box office stuff if he made it to the court!

They could sell it pay-per-view 😂

Sort of lost in all the chatter is the fact that it wasn't a "visa error" on the part of Djokovic's team as initially reported in the end at all.

The Aussies just decided to cancel his visa once he landed!

Why was Djokovic turned away at the airport?

Djokovic landed at Melbourne Airport at about 23:30 on Wednesday local time (12:30 GMT). He was promptly assessed and rejected for entry. His visa was cancelled on the spot and he was taken into temporary immigration detention.

The tennis player had failed to provide evidence he was double vaccinated, or had a legitimate exemption to that, Mr Morrison said. He also explained that a recent Covid-19 infection, or one in the past six months, was not a valid reason under federal rules.

Djokovic was taken away by Australian Border Force (ABF) officials to an immigration holding hotel, where he is now awaiting a decision on his fate. The rest of his team was allowed to enter Australia because their vaccination status was approved, Australian media reported.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59890943

Itssoeasy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118426437#Comment_118426437

So his team was let in then ? Interesting. I think it’s fair to say that it was always going to be interesting to see how this would play out but it’s even worse than I expected because overnight our time the Victorian state government and the federal government of Australia went back and forth over who approved the visa and medical exemption and both were blaming each other which is bizarre. It does seem the public opinion has turned completely against him regardless, because there’s a handful of other people who asked for an exemption and got it and have kept the head down and not made a fuss. Maybe if Novak had done that there wouldn’t have been this mess.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118426632#Comment_118426632

Yes Goran Ivanisevic, physios etc were let in

What actually happened was.....

Djokovic lands, strolls up to the passport window with not a care in the world....

Federal Border Force then start questioning him etc

Decide not to accept his reason for exemption for Visa

Then Federal gets onto State and say - "Listen, we've got Djokovic here but don't like the cut of his jib on this reason for getting around the vaccine requirement for the Visa to get into Australia, Will you back him though on the Visa thing seeing as you were involved already in approving him to play in the Australian Open in Victoria"

Victoria state came back "Eh no actually isn't that your job?"

Federal -> "Grand then, we're not going to let him in, Visa Cancelled"

This is confirmed by a Victoria State MP Pulford

The state was the second stage of the panel approval process already on giving him the exemption to play in the event, in the state of Victoria, but "things had changed" by the time they were asked (different people of course but still same level of approval and he would have been in) by Federal Border Force when Djokovic at the airport to give the go-ahead and started playing, "not our job".

Nobody wanted to be seen to approve him at that point, most especially politicians!

So it's a bit murky really....

https://twitter.com/JaalaPulford/status/1478701525937573891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1478701527531352071%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fsports%2F2022%2F1%2F5%2Fdjokovic-lands-in-australia-but-held-up-by-visa-issue

jacool

His father isn't coming out of this very well

""I have no idea what’s going on, they’re holding my son captive for five hours. This is a fight for the libertarian world, not just a fight for Novak, but a fight for the whole world! If they don’t let him go in half an hour, we will gather on the street, this is a fight for everyone""

Clearly his father hasn't seen what we all have to go through crossing borders in the current climate. His use of the word "captive" looks poor.

josip

Assuming Djokovic's appeal is rejected, which I expect it will, then won't they have to cancel the visas of any other player already in Australia who has availed of the same exemption as him ?

It's being reported in quite a few places that a previous Covid infection (in the last 6 months) is the basis of his exemption. Not confirmed by Djokovic himself yet, nor do we know what level of certification was required by Tennis Australia. But assuming it's bona fide, it does make the pitch-forkers claiming shenanigans look a bit stupid.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118426794#Comment_118426794

no they won't because the others may have had different reasons for exemption from vaccination to get into Australia.

now if it comes out that any of them had the same reason as Djokovic then that would be a different story.

Federal Australia don't accept recent Covid-19 infection apparently....

Now of course, it seems like he still would have gotten in if state backed Djokovic's visa when asked to do so by Federal but they didn't. Even though State were part of the two-stage process to give him the event exemption

The tennis player had failed to provide evidence he was double vaccinated, or had a legitimate exemption to that, Mr Morrison said.

He also explained that a recent Covid-19 infection, or one in the past six months, was not a valid reason under federal rules.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59890943

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118426752#Comment_118426752

Srdjan Djokovic doesn't get PR and is given to hyperbole. I suspect that its squeaky bum time for Novak every time he sees a new statement from his dad.

People from Serbia would be very aware of the difficulty crossing borders and getting visas and have been for many years. Most Irish people have never experienced the pleasure of queuing outside the British embassy on the Merrion Road from 5am for the chance of getting 1 of 20 tickets at 9am that would allow them to return the following morning to requeue and actually submit their visa application.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118426910#Comment_118426910

yeah I doubt if Djokovic even takes his dad seriously!

Federal level (who control the borders) also on a flip flop

When the dust settles I really hope that it's clear to people how both Federal and State Politicians did u-turns on their positions

The Barnaby Joyce muppet has chimed in now insinuating that Djokovic has lied on his application!

Earlier, Prime Minister Scott Morrison denied Djokovic was being singled out and said no-one was above the country's rules. Though Djokovic's reason for an exemption has not been disclosed, Mr Morrison said contracting Covid-19 in the past six months was not among federal criteria for one.

Mr Morrison had initially said he accepted the Victorian government's decision to grant Djokovic and other tennis players medical exemptions.

He is now being accused of politicising the issue amid the huge public backlash. The prime minister himself is under pressure amid the surge of Covid-19 infections in the country, and a federal election is scheduled for May

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59896771

jacool

Morrison is getting slaughtered by Australians online, claiming that he is just after political gain here. Twitter is killing him.

whiterebel

And Twitter being such a bastion of sanity, and all…..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118427606#Comment_118427606

There was/is a big shitshow about lack of PCR testing and lack of Rapid Antigen Tests in the country and Omicron ripping through NSW and Victoria

Does look very dubious both him and Victoria state rolling back on their original positions vis-a-vis Djokovic

Floppybits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118427941#Comment_118427941

Ah I don't know about that, still 3 other slams to play for during the year and hopefully by the time the US Open comes around the dreaded Covid pass will have been binned by then.

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118426752#Comment_118426752

Today he was comparing him to Jesus

https://twitter.com/gasparlanca/status/1479098506040119300

Meanwhile, some Djokovic fans were holding a candlelit vigil for him last night.

https://twitter.com/najsambul/status/1479031963440668672

A completely rational response to the situation

whiterebel

Is there anything to be said for having another mass?

yerwanthere123

Surprised this wasn't posted here today, might explain more about why Djokovic is in the pickle he's in

https://twitter.com/paulsakkal/status/1478987026581970948

It's not really surprising that Djokovic thought that all was grand really.

He had been given the ok by Victoria State and Tennis Australia by being granted an exemption to play at the Australian Open.

The Australian Prime Minister (Federal level who control the borders) also said that they would go along with the state decision - as "that's how it works" apparently!

In fairness, he was fcuked over by the politicians.

Initially, Mr Morrison had said he accepted the Victorian government's decision to grant Djokovic and other tennis players medical exemptions. On Tuesday, he said federal authorities, who control the borders, would "act in accordance" with the state's decision as "that's how it works".

But amid the public outrage, by Wednesday he had backflipped. Mr Morrison warned that Djokovic would be sent home if he failed to provide proper medical proof for his exemption.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59890943

yerwanthere123

Some could argue he f*cked himself over by choosing not to get vaccinated and attempting to swindle his way into Australia ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118428075#Comment_118428075

Shure what else would you do on Christmas Eve?

You'd be hard pressed to find a withered oak branch this time of year in Australia, have to make do with candles.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118428900#Comment_118428900

WELL HOLY GOD!

I wonder what will come out of the appeals process....

Some pretty simple and valid questions. He had a visa and was allowed on the plane but when he arrived the visa was cancelled....

Immigration expert Abul Rizvi details three legal questions in Novak Djokovic’s favour

“If I were Mr Djokovic‘s lawyer, there would be three questions I would be asking,” he said.

“The first question: ‘If my client had not met all of the legal requirements for a visa, why did you grant him a visa?’

“The second question I would ask is: ‘If you had concerns about my client’s visa, why did you not cancel that visa prior to him boarding a plane to Australia?’

“The third question I would ask is: ‘Given that you granted my client a visa, and none of the circumstances prior to grant have changed since that time, on what basis can you cancel that visa?’”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/tennis/immigration-expert-abul-rizvi-details-three-legal-questions-in-novak-djokovics-favour/news-story/068753f416aff1d2b487b4e77c463558

Reasonable Short Video Summary of the thing

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-59902320

Slashermcguirk

looks like other players now being investigated who are already in Melbourne. Looks like more players could be sent home because of the exemptions. This could get very messy now. I think the organisers have made a balls of this.

lostcat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118431637#Comment_118431637

They have made a total mess of it. I wonder is the Djokovic appeal on Monday in-camera with him being some kind of an illegal alien at present? The only way for him clean this up now is to disclose the full facts about what he said/included in his exemption application (which may or may not reflect well on him and/or his doctors). He may on principle not want to disclose this, fair enough but the whole affair will hang around him like a bad small until be does.

But the Aussies come out of this very, very poorly too. Morrison is a tool, the State of Victoria is trying to have it every way, and the Australian Open looks very...accommodating. Craig Tiley has totally gone to ground the the past couple of days.

Slashermcguirk

Djokovic and these other players, like them or not have done little wrong here. Do I believe they should all get vaccinated, absolutely I think they should. However the rules were you are double vaccinated or you need an exemption. Whatever their reason Djokovic and other players applied for an exemption and got one. Had they just been told no, you need to be vaccinated they would have stayed at home.

A lot of this has to fall on the Australian side. Clearly there is disagreement between different levels of government on what the exemptions should be, that is not the fault of the players in my opinion. Like him or loathe him (and whoever else got an exemption) did what was asked of them and now the Australian authorities are clearly the ones now are questioning why the exemptions were given.

As for the tournament itself, this could mean a number of players missing including the best player in the world and arguably (and in my opinion) the greatest player of all time. whatever your opinion of the guy, you do want the best players in the tournament but obviously that aint gonna happen.

jacool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118431827#Comment_118431827

Two things in there that are both "arguable" to be fair, not just one! Again, in my opinion. For me GOAT has to encompass a lot more than the ability to strike a ball exceptionally well.

Royale with Cheese

I've no love for Djokovic (or his stance on vaccines) but he's been shafted here. I think the longer he sits in detention the more public sentiment will turn against the Australian authorities farcical handling of this, I would not be at all surprised to see him play the tournament now. Unless he lied about his reasons for a medical exemption that is.

ebbsy

Debating the rights or wrongs of his situation are somewhat meaningless because different countries have different Covid laws.

When in Rome...........

lostcat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118432106#Comment_118432106

The last sentence there is key, its why I asked about the appeal hearing being public or not. if it is found that he really did have a verifiable (beyond reasonable doubt) case of covid in the last whenever, he should expect to be able to enter the country. if he pulled a dodgy doctors cert out the hat at the last minute to get an exemption, his reputation is ruined.

His wrongheaded and hubristic stance on vaccines is very unfortunate, to put in mildly. Becker wrote an article today in the Daily Mail in which he pointed out the obvious that Djokovic's opposition to vaccines will hinder his push to be considered the best of of all time and that while its a stance he may well regret in 20 years time, he is single-minded enough to dog it out and not get vaccinated. Inat, anyone?

whiterebel

What keeps rumbling around in my head, is why didn't he use his exemption to play the ATP Cup? He would have been in the country, doing his biggest thing - playing for his country. Any problems would have been ironed out far in advance, and even if he had to quarantine he would have had no problem playing at the AO. The fact that he left it so late suggests to me that he is pulling a fast one, and playing chicken with the AO, who blinked first.

The way the visa seems to work is that they check the supporting documents on arrival, which is where the problems started.

josip

When did Tennis Australia announce that Covid in the last 6 months would get you in to the 2022 Australia Open?

I don't remember any reports last year of Djokovic missing for 10 days isolating due to Covid. I don't subscribe to the bribery theories, but I'd be interested in when he had Covid and what official verification he has. I suppose the safest way for him to go about engineering this, is to purposely contract Covid. To the rest of us, this might seem a bit nuts when the alternative option is to take a vaccine, but as we all agree, his head wiring is different to most of the rest of us.

The next option would be to submit someone else's swab/blood who has recently had Covid for testing in his stead. Maybe a family member/close friend who he can trust to keep quiet. Little risk of the sample being kept/retrieved for investigation later.

The third option would be to get a doctor to certify, but the doctor will still need to organise a fake test to have the results. Bribery in the Serbian medical system is much more common than in Ireland, but I doubt if Djokovic would rely on a bribe. It would have to be a trusted doctor. It might also explain his reluctance to divulge any information to the press about his exemption, because to do so might bring unwanted attention on a friend doing him a favour.

Of course he might genuinely have had a 2nd bout of Covid, but you would then expect things like Stefan telling his friends that tata has Covid again and I can't come to your apartment to play.

Slashermcguirk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118432087#Comment_118432087

lets be honest GOAT is nearly impossible to judge, all we can give is our opinions. For me the reasons I would give are:

Tied for most slams on 20 (so has as many as anybody)

Only player to win all grand slams at least twice and only player in open era to win 4 in a row

Only player in history to win all Masters series and ATP finals (he has won all at least twice)

By far the most weeks ever as world number one

Winning record against every single top rival he has faced including his biggest rivals Federer and Nadal

Has beaten Federer in 3/3 wimbledon finals (Feds favourite surface, not Novaks) and two wins vs Rafa at French Open

Has won the most big titles (combination of slams, masters, ATP finals) than any player in history

Has a very even spread of slam wins across all surfaces (hard court his best surface but has even won 6 Wimbledons!)

Slashermcguirk

I see another player been sent packing, she had already played in a warm up tournament, interesting comment saying being detained same place as Djokovic with several other players

https://www.rte.ie/sport/tennis/2022/0107/1272372-czech-player-detained-as-australian-visa-cancelled/

Yes and at the moment it's looking more like that Tennis Australia (and maybe Victoria State for not bothering to read) "may" be the source of the original fook-up or so leaked docs appear to show.

But moving on to talk about Renata Voracova for a moment ....

(foam and spittle gathering in mouth)

I REALLY WANT TO KNOW - WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?

WHO DID SHE BRIBE?

SURELY ONLY THE MOST DERANGED VORACOVA WTA BIDDY FAN WILL BE BACKING HER NOW?

(wipes away foam and spittle)

anyway - Australia really pulling out all the stops here in a bit of an obvious back-track effort to try to appear consistent.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/07/czech-doubles-specialist-voracova-joins-djokovic-in-detention-amid-vaccine-row-tennis-australian-open

Royale with Cheese

Thiem isn't playing and would have no hope of winning on recent form anyway.

lostcat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118433210#Comment_118433210

would be good for tennis if they started to earn it, rather than waiting for the big three to retire, or transform into illegal immigrants...

I had thought that Djokovic might sneak 2 slams this year with Nadal maybe taking the French, but hard to know where things will end up at this stake. One or two of Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Zverev are going to be most of the finals.