Djokovic says no hard feelings about Australian deportation

Adelaide – Novak Djokovic has reiterated his earlier comments that he does not harbor any hard feelings about his return to Australia following his visa cancellation and subsequent deportation in January ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

Djokovic was deported almost 12 months ago after arriving unvaccinated against COVID-19, at a time when the country was still subject to strict quarantine regulations and vaccination records.

Those regulations have since been lifted, and in November the Australian government lifted the three-year ban that accompanied Djokovic’s deportation and granted him a visa to return to the Australian Open from January 16.

Djokovic returned to Australia on Tuesday ahead of the Adelaide International where he is due to play next week.

“It’s great to be back in Australia,” he said on Thursday. “It’s a country where I’ve had tremendous success in my career, especially Melbourne. It is by far my most successful Grand Slam. I hope everything will be positive. Obviously (fan reaction) is something I can’t predict.

“I will do my best to play good tennis and bring good emotions and good feelings to the crowd.”

Djokovic said he is still struggling to forget his deportation.

“Obviously what happened 12 months ago wasn’t easy for me, my family, my team and anyone close to me. It’s obviously disappointing to leave the country like this,” he said.

“You cannot forget these events. It’s one of those things that will stay with you for the rest of your life. I’ve never experienced anything like this and hopefully never again. But it’s a valuable life experience for me and something that will stay like I said, but I have to move on.”

Djokovic has won the Australian Open nine times, including the last three times he has played. Rafael Nadal won the 2022 title in the absence of Djokovic.

___

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports