For a guy who has felt underappreciated and un-loved compared to his contemporary tennis superstars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic hardly did himself any favors in getting himself thrown out of Australia on the eve of the year’s first major tournament. For a fellow who is such a magnificent athletic contortionist—able to bend and twist to counter any opponent’s offensive firepower—Djokovic nevertheless managed to tie himself in knots attempting to dance around the host nation’s pandemic protocols.
The whole bizarre episode, which has ended Djokovic’s legitimate shot to win a record 21st Grand Slam singles title and thus pass both Federer and Nadal, was a public relations disaster. And something of an international incident, with the president of Djokovic’s native Serbia declaring that Australian officials had “humiliated” Djokovic and “actually humiliated themselves.”
Australian tennis officials took a hit, too, after apparently trying to give Djokovic special treatment. They were aware he was unvaccinated and that their government barred unvaccinated foreigners from entering the country, and that the Australian public was exhausted from two years of strict Covid-19 lockdown.
According to Australian journalist Van Badham, the rejection of Djokovic’s visa that followed the Open’s offer of a vaccine exemption was “undoubtedly proving popular” with the Australian public. “So, Novak. Mate. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, hey?” Badham offered in farewell.
It was reported that 83 percent of 60,000 local respondents favored Djokovic’s dismissal while the hashtag #DjokovicOut had been trending throughout the weeklong drama of Djokovic’s misleading statements and two court hearings. He became “Novax Djocovid” on Australian Twitter.
Far from Australia’s shores, ESPN’s Howard Bryant wrote that Djokovic “has cemented his membership within the pandemic’s most infamous group—the anti-vax multimillionaire athlete who behaves as if his fame, wealth and enormous platform to disseminate misinformation place him above the rest of us.”
The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill concluded that Djokovic “has made a spectacle of trying to bend the rules—thereby showing that, besides Covid, the other sickness the world is fighting is selfishness.” Hill also called Djokovic a hypocrite for having criticized women’s champion Naomi Osaka last year when she refused to attend French Open press conferences, recalling Djokovic’s quote that the press sessions are “part of the sport and part of your life on the tour. This is something we have to do; otherwise, we will get fined.”
With all those rotten tomatoes flying, even the nimble Djokovic couldn’t dodge the trouble he might easily have avoided by getting his Covid jab. And it’s not as if Djokovic is against medical science: In 2018 he revived his career by undergoing elbow surgery, ending a drought of eight straight majors without a title by winning eight of the next 13.
His fellow players, while universally praising Djokovic’s tennis talent, have expressed fatigue over his roguish stance and how it distracted from the tournament, while reminding that Australia’s vaccination requirement was clearly stated. And it’s hardly the first time colleagues found Djokovic’s actions annoying.
In 2008, he had just won his first Slam trophy at 20 when there were complaints that he too often called for trainers on court, took suspicious bathroom breaks and complained of various injuries. During that year’s U.S. Open, then-top-ranked American Andy Roddick sarcastically responded to a question about which ankle Djokovic reportedly had hurt with, “Isn’t it both of them? And a hip? And a cramp? Bird flu? Anthrax? SARS? Common cough and cold?”
At the time, Djokovic also had rankled some peers with his habit of bouncing the ball up to 20 times before serving, and by publicly mimicking the quirks of others on the tour—Roddick’s twitches under a pulled-down cap, Maria Sharapova’s pre-serve hopping and fiddling with her racket strings, Nadal’s long-shorts-and-sleeveless look, Federer’s tendency to flick at his hair while awaiting serve.
Djokovic insisted then that he preferred respect over flat-out popularity, that he wanted to be remembered as a tennis champion and not “a clown.” Much was made of the fact in last year’s U.S. Open final that fans had rallied to Djokovic’s side against Daniil Medvedev during Djokovic’s failed attempt to complete the first men’s Grand Slam sweep in 52 years. That crowd support left Djokovic in tears and proclaiming he “felt something I never felt in my life….The crowd made me feel special.”
Finally, appreciation and love. But it’s important to remind that Medvedev, who was marching to a straight-sets victory, himself was no New York crowd favorite, and that it is typical Open fans’ behavior to willingly switch allegiance, mid-match, if it means they get more tennis.
Whatever. Djokovic may have just sent himself back to Square One in his quest for widespread affection.