Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia on Sunday, just about twelve hours before the Australian Open main draw began. Novak issued a statement as he left, saying (in part) that he would have more to say once the tournament was over in two weeks and he didn’t want to distract from the tennis. For the most part, people have been paying attention to the tennis and there are already some great and tragic stories coming out of the Slam. But the ghost of Djoker is still haunting the tournament.

At the end of the day, Australian authorities – like Immigration Minister Alex Hawke – decided not to nitpick Djokovic’s visa application, or call into question the sketchy and dangerous timeline Djokovic provided, which had him admitting that he knew he was Covid-positive when he did a photoshoot and in-person interview. Hawke ended up canceling Novak’s visa because Novak has a well-documented history of being anti-vaccine. On Thursday, the Australian federal court released the actual ruling on Novak’s appeal. Three judges unanimously agreed with Hawke, pointing out that Novak’s stardom and influence means that his anti-vaccine ideology was a danger to himself and others.

While Djoker was the architect of his own demise, he had significant help in the form of Tennis Australia’s CEO Craig Tiley, who clearly bent the rules to ensure that Djokovic could receive a medical exemption. Tiley was interviewed at the AO today, and he made a number of very strange statements. For one, he said that he’s absolutely not planning on resigning, which… he should. He also denied the report that Tennis Australia was picking up the $500K-plus tab for Djokovic’s legal fees in Australia, but didn’t specify if TA did have some kind of arrangement to partially pay for Novak’s legal fees. Tiley also didn’t want to talk about the lack of daily Covid testing for players – players on the ground have complained that the Covid protocols are way too loose this year, especially given the huge spike in Omicron.

"We've addressed that and we're moving on" is not going to be a remotely satisfactory answer from Craig Tiley when it comes to the fallout of the Djokovic debacle and Tennis Australia's major role in it. #AusOpenpic.twitter.com/LPdhziDfbJ

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 20, 2022

A tragic ass-covering by a bureaucrat, basically. Regarding Novak and money, the Sun reported yesterday that Novak is “in talks” with lawyers about possibly suing the Australian government for ill treatment. A lot of figures are being thrown around, but if he sues, it would be for something in the vicinity of $3-5 million? It would be interesting to see if he does that – I suspect he will not, because I suspect he will want to work out some kind of deal to ensure that he plays in Australia next year. But we will see. I wonder if Novak is sitting in Belgrade, seething, or if he’s mostly just sad to miss his favorite slam.

Weirdly, this story also popped up yesterday – Djokovic has an 80% stake in a Danish biotech firm which is developing a “treatment for Covid-19.” As in, not a vaccine, but… like, a pill or something? All of this just because Djokovic is too g–damn stubborn to get the vaccine.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, social media.