Theatrics of AO 2022: Starring Djokovic, Tennis Australia, Australian and Victorian Government
Manglu Balasubramanian
At the start of every year, tennis fans world-wide keep a close eye on the warm-up tournaments preceding the first Grand Slam (Australian Open aka AO) of the year and how their favorite players are performing and any big names that are last minute drop outs.Usually, there are very few distractions (particularly non-tennis related activities)
AO 2022 has turned out to be very different with a lots of twists and turns (certainly good for a TV drama or movie in the near future). COVID-19 has influenced (rather dictated) the happenings across the globe for over 2 years now and it has provided the key ingredients for the drama that is still unfolding and impacting AO 2022.
Boxing and Tennis are very different sports. However AO 2022 edition (and the happenings before its start) resembles closely the infamous pre-fight boxing brawls.
Which of the famous pre-fight boxing brawls does this current Djokovic Visa (medical exemption) saga resemble the most?
- Ali & Frazier 1974 ABC Studio Brawl
- Lewis & Tyson 2002
- Slot in your preferred one here!
If you are intrigued about the choice of these two brawls, I wanted to pick ones that are famous and at the same time close to historical/ key dates in the world of Tennis.
ATP Rankings (for Singles) were first published in late 1973 with the Ali/Frazier brawl happened a few months after this milestone event.
Djokovic became a tennis professional in 2003 just a few months after the Lewis/Tyson brawl.
A number of players (typically top 100 ranked players such as Djokovic, Nadal, Zverev etc) qualify automatically to Grand Slams while others (such as lower ranked players) have to take a longer route. Some lucky ones (such as Andy Murray) are given wildcards while the others have to play the qualifying matches before they get a chance to play the first round of the Grand Slam tournaments.
During AO22, Djokovic with his vaccination status had decided to play a different qualifying tournament (the number of rounds far exceeding a typical qualifying tournament)
November 18 2021: Round 1 of Qualifying Match: Obtained a visa to enter Australia. Result : Winner: Djokovic
December 16 2021: Round 2 Undertook a RAT test (which was negative ) and a PCR test (which turned out as positive) Result : Winner: Djokovic
December 30 2021: Round 3 Receives Medical Exemption from Tennis Australia. Result : Winner: Djokovic
January 1 2021: Round 4: Ministry of Home Affair clears Novak for quarantine-free arrival. Result : Winner: Djokovic
January 2 2021: Round 5: Djokovic receives a Border Travel Permit by the state government of Victoria. Result : Winner: Djokovic
January 5 2021: Round 6: Boarded Plane to Melbourne. Result : Winner: Djokovic
January 6 2021: Round 7: Visa cancelled and detained in a temporary detention center. Result : Winner: Australian Govt.
January 10 2021: Round 8: Judge overtuns the results of Round 7!! Result : Winner: Djokovic
Is this the equivalent of “Lucky Losers” who gain entry to the main rounds even though they have lost in the qualifiers?
January 10–14 2021: Round 9: Immigration minister Hawke pondered over his options to cancel Djokovic’s visa. This was an interesting round with Hawke planning and playing this round in his office while Djokovic played/practiced in Rod Laver Arena. This round is best summarized using the picture below.
The sword did fall on Djokovic’s head late on Friday (14th Jan) when Hawke cancelled Djokovic’s visa. Result : Winner: Australian Govt
January 14–16 2021: Round 10: The last round was played by the lawyers representing the players which culminated in the Federal Court validating the federal government’s decision to deport him. Result : Winner: Australian Govt
With Djokovic now out of the Australian Open, the million dollar question is who is the real winner?
Is it the Australian Govt? Players such as Nadal, Zverev or Medvedev?
Don’t believe so.
I strongly believe the clear winner of this saga is World №150 Caruso!!. Not only does he now have a spot in the main rounds as a lucky loser, he is also the pseudo top seed for AO22.
With this gripping drama resulting in Djokovic’s deportation, I am absolutely sure that TV series and/or movie(s) will be made out of these happenings. If this story becomes a movie, my suggestions for the title would be :
Title (inspired by original movie title)
- Djoker AO22 Edition: Catch me if you can (Catch me if you can)
- Commonwealth Coat of Arms and Djoker (Batman and Joker)
- The Curious Case of Djoker’s Visa (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
There are already reports that Netflix is preparing a documentary the about these happenings. I can only hope that there are at least a couple of tennis matches in AO22 that can give this story a run for its money!!
“ Let the AO 2022 games begin!!”