13 January 2024 , 10:00
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Novak Djokovic was at the centre of a global storm at the Australian Open two years ago.
The Serbian superstar arrived Down Under looking to add another Grand Slam title to his collection believing he would be free to play after being granted a medical exemption. However, he was detained by Australian Border Force after it was determined he did not meet the entry requirements for an unvaccinated traveller.
His visa was ultimately cancelled and, after spending several days in an immigration detention hotel awaiting a court hearing, he was deported as the 2022 tournament began. Djokovic took plenty of heat for the situation - but he still showed his class when he eventually left Australia.
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His journey back from Australia saw him touchdown in Dubai. He could've been forgiven for feeling frustrated and drained given the situation, but he still gave his time to various fans and members of the public to sign autographs and pose for photographs.
Two years on, the anger and outrage surrounding Djokovic's situation has subsided somewhat. He is now back in Australia eyeing his 11th Australian Open title and a 25th Grand Slam title.
Despite still giving his time to fans even at the height of the controversy, Djokovic recently opened up on how he was portrayed as the "villain of the world" when the situation erupted in Australia two years ago.
Djokovic showed his class by signing autographs and posing for pictures immediately after being deported (Twitter)“I was really drawn into a storm in media worldwide that was related to anything to do with Covid and the vaccine,” he told 9News Melbourne ahead of this year's tournament. “All of a sudden I became the villain of the world which is obviously a terrible position to be in as an athlete.
“Everything got out of hand and then I was labelled as this or that. It was so big in the media that I just could not fight that, I didn’t even want to get into that.
"I wanted to stay here and play tennis, but at some point with the amount of craziness going around I just wanted to get out and go back home.”