Novak Djokovic nonetheless ‘traumatised’ by Australian Open deportation controversy: ‘Are they going to detain me again…’

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Jan 06, 2025 04:09 PM IST

In 2022, Novak Djokovic had two stints in a quarantine lodge after which was deported.

On January 9, the Australian Open males’s and ladies’s singles draw will likely be revealed, and all eyes will as soon as once more be on Novak Djokovic, who courted controversy within the nation through the Covid-19 pandemic. Three years in the past, he was detained when he arrived in Melbourne for the Grand Slam occasion, as he didn’t meet the necessities for vaccination to enter the nation at the moment.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in motion.(AFP)

In 2022, Djokovic had two stints in a quarantine lodge after which was deported. Since then, he has even received the Australian Open. Chatting with the Herald Solar, Djokovic reveals that he was nonetheless traumatised from that incident.

He mentioned, “I have (some trauma) to be quite frank,” he mentioned.

“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.”

Revealing how he silenced his critics, he mentioned, “I came like right away the year after in 2023… and I won the Australian Open – it was my 22nd Slam. My parents and whole team were there, and it was actually one of the most emotional wins that I’ve ever had considering all that I’d been through the year before,” he added.

Djokovic had his first Slam-less marketing campaign within the final season, in seven years. He lately added former participant Andy Murray to his teaching employees, and he will likely be becoming a member of Djokovic within the upcoming Grand Slam occasion.

If Djokovic fails to achieve the semis, he may fall out of the top-10 for the primary time since 2019. He’s a file 10-time Australian Open champion, and his predominant opponents will likely be Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

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