Novak Djokovic has insisted that he has a ‘great connection’ with Australia despite being deported from the country last month after the government cancelled his visa for a second time.
The world No.1 was embroiled in controversy during his time in the country after border force officials concluded that his reason for a visa was insufficient. Australia required all visitors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Djokovic is not vaccinated but was told by Tennis Australia that he would be allowed to play in the first Grand Slam of the season on the basis that he had recently been infected with the virus. However, border officials ruled that reason to be invalid and the tennis star was placed in a immigration hotel for a couple days before winning a court hearing to overturn that decision. The Australian government then used their executive powers to cancel his visa for a second time with one of their reasons being that if he stayed he could trigger unrest with anti-vax campaigners. Something Djokovic has firmly denied.
Despite the controversy, the Serbian hopes to return to the country again in the future to play in the Australian Open which he has won a record nine times.
“I will always remember all the nice things that happened for me in Melbourne. I had a lot of professional and personal beautiful moments there. Despite all this, I have a great connection with Australia. Results that I had in Melbourne show you how I feel when I go there,” Djokovic said during an hour-long interview with Serbian TV broadcaster RTS.
“Everything that has happened this year was totally unexpected. It will be hard to forget, but I want to come back to Australia in the future and to play on Rod Laver Arena again.”
As a result of his absence, rival Rafael Nadal claimed the trophy in Melbourne Park by staging an epic comeback from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev. The Spaniard has become the most decorated male singles player in Grand Slam history with 21 major titles which is one ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Whilst he admits that nothing is for certain, Djokovic believes he would have won the Melbourne major this year if he had been allowed to participate. Last year he won three out of the four Grand Slam tournaments with the only exception being the US Open where he lost to Medvedev.
“Nothing in life is guaranteed, but considering everything, I did like my chances in Australia this year. I feel like I’m in my backyard on Rod Laver Arena. Out of respect to Rafael Nadal who won and to all the other players, I don’t dare to say that I would’ve won, but I think I had a good chance.” He said.
As for runner-up Medvedev, Djokovic revealed that he received a message from the Russian shortly after the final but it is not known what he said. The two have played against each other 10 times on the Tour, including three finals last year alone.
“Daniil is an extremely good guy, we have a great and respectful relationship. I think he appreciates that I practised a lot with him and helped him when he was a junior, gave him advice and answered some questions. We were on the same plane when Russia played Davis Cup in Serbia, he was very thankful for that. Our relationship keeps growing,” said Djokovic.
“He texted me 45 minutes after the finals, which surprised me. Content of the message is private, but it was supportive, both ways. He is very authentic and speaks his mind on every stage, he is not always politically correct, which many people won’t like. He reminds me of myself in that regard.”
Chasing Olympic glory
Whilst Djokovic’s travel schedule could be disrupted over the coming weeks due to his stance on not getting vaccinated, the tennis star has no plans of retiring anytime soon as he targets a title that he is yet to win – an Olympic gold medal.
Last year at the Tokyo Games, the 34-year-old suffered heavy disappointment where he was knocked out in the semi-finals by Alexander Zverev and then lost in the bronze medal playoff against Pablo Carreno Busta. He later withdrew from his other bronze medal match in ther mixed doubles.
“An Olympic medal, especially gold, is always a big wish,” Djokovic outlined when asked about his future goals. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to fight for it in the past. I plan to be in Paris in 2024. I rewound my match with Zverev in Tokyo many times, trying to figure out what went wrong. I played superbly up to that point, but I did feel I was running on fumes, both mentally and physically.”
The only medal Djokovic has even won at the Olympics was bronze in singles at the 2008 Games in Beijing.
Whilst setting out his long-term goals, in the short-term Djokovic’s focus is on next week’s Dubai Tennis Championships where he will be playing his first competitive tennis of the 2022 season. The tournament could be a pivotal moment for the tennis star as an early loss could open the door for Medvedev to snatch his No.1 ranking.
“I don’t know what the future brings, I hope for the best and I feel that I still have time. Everything that has happened will affect my return in Dubai. I will try to channel all this energy, to turn it into fuel both mentally and physically. There is extra motivation, surely.” He stated.
