As he made a rare doubles appearance at the Adelaide International, Novak Djokovic was warmly welcomed back to Australia.
Due to his lack of Covid-19 vaccination, the Serb was deported prior to the Australian Open in 2022.
In November, Djokovic’s three-year visa ban was lifted, enabling him to enter the nation.
Following the loss, the 35-year-old, who is currently ranked fifth in the world, remained to greet and take pictures with fans.
The Australian Open, the first major of the year, begins on January 16 and he is the top seed in the singles event in Adelaide. On Tuesday, he will play Frenchman Constant Lestienne in the first round of the singles event.
Just one Grand Slam title separates Djokovic from Rafael Nadal’s men’s record of 22, who has won nine titles in Melbourne.
In other men’s singles action on Monday in Adelaide, British number three Jack Draper defeated South Korean number nine Kwon Soon-woo 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the second round.
World number six Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada was shocked by Australian qualifier Alexei Popyrin 6-4 7-6 (7-5), and Holger Rune of Denmark, ranked 11th in the world, was eliminated early at the hands of Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who prevailed 2-6 6-4 6-4.
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What transpired a year ago?
During the month of January of last year, when Djokovic arrived in Australia for the 2022 tournament, Covid-19 cases were rapidly increasing and government regulations required that everyone entering the country be immunized, unless they had a legitimate medical exemption.
Djokovic, who was detained by the Australian Border Force upon entering the nation and made to stay at an immigration hotel, claimed he had obtained a medical exemption to defend his title without being immunized because he had recently recovered from Covid.
After 10 days of court proceedings, the government decided he did not meet the entry requirements, canceling his visa and automatically barring him from entering Australia until 2025.
In the months leading up to the tournament, Djokovic’s detention dominated the news, with protesters demonstrating outside his hotel to support and oppose his eventual deportation.
