Jump to content

Australian Open


WilliamM
This topic is 752 days old and is no longer open for new replies.  Replies are automatically disabled after two years of inactivity.  Please create a new topic instead of posting here.  

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, BSR said:

This baffles me.  The whole world knew of Novak's travels because his training in Marbella was all over social media.  Why would he "forget" to mention it on his visa application?

Baffles me as well. I thought it was talking about the arrival card that you are handed on the flight (in which case there's no way he could 'forget') but I heard someone characterise the question as having asked if he had travelled or would travel in the 14 days before arrival. That implies that it was not the arrival card, and could have been on his visa application and I think that was submitted in early November. If it was that form and he changed his plans and made 'unanticipated' travel, there's no way he could change the declaration. The details of what form, when and what the actual question was are far from clear. The saga continues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, mike carey said:

Baffles me as well. I thought it was talking about the arrival card that you are handed on the flight (in which case there's no way he could 'forget') but I heard someone characterise the question as having asked if he had travelled or would travel in the 14 days before arrival. That implies that it was not the arrival card, and could have been on his visa application and I think that was submitted in early November. If it was that form and he changed his plans and made 'unanticipated' travel, there's no way he could change the declaration. The details of what form, when and what the actual question was are far from clear. The saga continues.

Someone tweeted out video of 2 Channel 7 newscasters' brutally blunt opinion of Novak & his visa case.  Well, if the prevailing public opinion is that Novak lied about his recent Covid exposure, that might actually work out for him in the end.  Lying is bad, but knowing you're Covid-positive yet meeting & mingling with dozens of people is even worse, imo.

 

PS: as for the ongoing saga, Novak hired 4 more lawyers for his visa case.  Wow, Novak is certainly doing his part to boost the Australian economy. 

Edited by BSR
Added PS
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Lucky said:

So his test on December 16th was originally negative, but an hour later marked positive. He then carried on as if negative.

Timestamps don't lie.  Looks like he's gonna need those 4 lawyers he just hired.

I feel bad for Renata Voracova, a Czech doubles specialist who was allowed entry, even played a match, then was detained and deported.  Since she's not super-rich like Novak, she couldn't hire a dream team of pricey lawyers to fight the visa cancellation.  She just had to leave Australia. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Lucky said:

So his test on December 16th was originally negative, but an hour later marked positive. He then carried on as if negative.

I heard that on 16 Dec he took both an RAT and a PCR test. The RAT was negative (result straight away) and the PCR positive (result received next day). The ABC cited a long Instagram post he had made this morning saying he had not received the result when he attended the children's event but cancelled later engagements. Except an interview with L'Equipe which he acknowledged was an error of judgment.

The Immigration Minister acknowledged receiving clarifying information from Djolovic' lawyers about some of the court documents and said that he would require further time to consider it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, mike carey said:

I heard that on 16 Dec he took both an RAT and a PCR test. The RAT was negative (result straight away) and the PCR positive (result received next day). The ABC cited a long Instagram post he had made this morning saying he had not received the result when he attended the children's event but cancelled later engagements. Except an interview with L'Equipe which he acknowledged was an error of judgment.

The Immigration Minister acknowledged receiving clarifying information from Djolovic' lawyers about some of the court documents and said that he would require further time to consider it.

Ah, thanks for the clarification.  If he knew he was Covid-positive yet still did the interview with L'Équipe, I don't think he should get raked over the coals for it.  True, he should have canceled the interview & stayed home, but either the L'Équipe guys are vaccinated and have nothing to worry about or they're unvaccinated and have to chosen to accept a level of risk.  In either case, they're adults, which PR-wise isn't nearly as damaging as infecting a bunch of children.

Edited by BSR
Wording
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Peng Shuai  is being forgotten in this annoying controversy over Novak Djokovic.

Great news for the repressive government in China.  Very bad for tennis, especially women's tennis.

 

Novak would do well to discuss her again when his issues are resolved.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Charlie said:

In fact, the draw ceremony did take place only a couple of hours later, and Novak was seeded #1.

I read the delay was only 75 minutes, but no matter.  When was the last time a Slam draw ceremony was postponed?  They always start on time because journalists and fans around the world are on the edge of their seat.

Novak is in the draw, but Immigration Minister Alex Hawke can still exercise his right to deport Novak at any time.  One tennis reporter wrote that AO Tournament Director Craig Tiley looked like he hadn't slept in a week.  Probably not too far from the truth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was no explanation given for the delay of the draw, so most observers assumed it had something to do with Djokovic, but that was never confirmed. I don't envy Hawke, who is going to be criticized no matter what decision he makes, or what reason he gives. The whole mess insures that they will not be referring to the AO as "the Happy Slam" this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me the biggest question is: how did he know he was going to test positive 3 weeks before he planned to travel to Australia? It seems he was planning to attend the tournament all along. He knew he wasn't going to get vaccinated. His only opportunity was the "had Covid in the last X days" loophole. So he conveniently comes up with a positive test. No symptoms. Carries on his regular schedule like there's nothing wrong. To me that is all just way too suspicious. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, fedssocr1 said:

For me the biggest question is: how did he know he was going to test positive 3 weeks before he planned to travel to Australia? It seems he was planning to attend the tournament all along. He knew he wasn't going to get vaccinated. His only opportunity was the "had Covid in the last X days" loophole. So he conveniently comes up with a positive test. No symptoms. Carries on his regular schedule like there's nothing wrong. To me that is all just way too suspicious. 

Plenty on tennis Twitter are wondering the same thing.  Clearly Novak had every intention of playing the AO given that he was working hard in the gym and on the practice court long before the positive test on Dec 16.  No way does a player prepare with such intensity on the chance that he might test Covid-positive in the future but conveniently before the deadline.  The more I read about this case, the less sense it makes.  For now all I can say is I bet the 4 lawyers Novak hired for his visa case are working fast & furious to save his bacon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thread holding up the sword of Damocles finally snapped.  Immigration Minister Alex Hawke hit the eject button & canceled Novak's visa.  Of course, the fanboy in me hoped that Hawke would just let this go, but I pretty much knew deportation was inevitable.  Rules are rules.  No matter how much you might disagree with them, if everybody else has to follow them, so do you.

All the fallout from this decision is to be determined.  I thought that if Novak's visa was canceled, he wouldn't be able to return for 3 years.  Yikes! So the 9-time AO champion can't come back until 2025??  What happens to Craig Tiley?  He was the one who told the players that prior infection in the last 6 months was sufficient for entry, which was obviously wrong, and since it's the AO who processes the player visas, the players had every reason to take his word for it.

Novak's deportation leaves a hole in the men's draw you could drive a Mack truck through because Novak's quarter was pretty weak.  The highest seed left is Matteo "no backhand" Berrettini.  Other possible semifinalists are Monfils (2 Slam semis), Norrie (never gone deep at a major), and Carreño-Busta (2 Slam semis).  Garín and Sonego are also seeded, but I'll be shocked if they get to the semi.  I wouldn't be shocked if Carlos Alcaraz made it through, as crazy as it is to predict an 18yo Slam semifinalist.  I bet #5 seed Rublev is pissed off that Hawke waited until after the draw was set because he could have avoided one of top 4 seeds until the semi.  As it stands, he's slated to face his nemesis Medvedev in the quarters (he's 1-4 against Medvedev, although he won their last match).

I have to wonder if this decision will be the straw to break Novak's anti-vaxx resolve.  Macron said players don't need to be vaxxed, but Britain requires vaccination for entry & specifies that prior infection is insufficient, and the US requires it for travelers flying in.  Novak plays only for the Slams nowadays, and he learned the hard way that as much as the tournament director wants him in the draw, the TD has no say in who's allowed past the border.

PS:  Novak plans to appeal, but this isn't a court matter.  Since the decision to allow or cancel the visa was the sole discretion of the Immigration Minister, I don't know who Novak makes his appeal to.

Edited by BSR
Added PS
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Novak fights to the bitter end!  I was mistaken; he has one last appeal.  In the Federal Court of Australia before a different judge, it's the Immigration Minister v. Novak Djokovic, Saturday Jan 15 @10:15am.  I don't see how he wins this, but I thought the same about the last hearing.  I read that 83% of Australians think Novak should be deported.  If by some miracle he wins tomorrow's hearing, expect a frosty reception for his R1 match Monday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, BSR said:

Novak fights to the bitter end!  I was mistaken; he has one last appeal.  In the Federal Court of Australia before a different judge, it's the Immigration Minister v. Novak Djokovic, Saturday Jan 15 @10:15am.  I don't see how he wins this, but I thought the same about the last hearing.  I read that 83% of Australians think Novak should be deported.  If by some miracle he wins tomorrow's hearing, expect a frosty reception for his R1 match Monday.

That means that the final decision will be made only two days before play starts. What about the others, like Renata Voracova, who were told that they were exempt and then kicked out? If Novak is allowed to play, they deserve some kind of compensation (I understand that Voracova is already suing Tennis Australia).

I doubt that Novak will give in and get vaxxed now; that will make him look weak back in Serbia. Roland Garros and Wimbledon are still five months away, and the COVID protocols could change before then. I wonder, however, about the big tournaments in Spain before then; I understand that the Spanish govt is already looking into his appearances there in December, when he supposedly had been tested positive but didn't reveal that.

Edited by Charlie
factual error
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, BSR said:

 

 

Are Novak Djokovic's   lawyers actually saying the Australian government official made an irrational decision? 

Do the lawyers know he has not been vaccinated during the rise of cases in Australia?

Edited by WilliamM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, WilliamM said:

Are Novak Djokovic's   lawyers actually saying the Australian government official made an irrational decision? 

Do the lawyers know he has not been vaccinated during the rise of cases in Australia?

The Minister's decision was not based on the health threat from his being unvaccinated. The detailed reasoning the Minister released after his public statement cited the danger that allowing him to stay would pose because it would fan anti-vax sentiment. His lawyers say that there is no evidence to support that claim, and that is what they say is irrational. The hearing in the Federal Court will resume tomorrow (16 Jan) at 0930.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, mike carey said:

The Minister's decision was not based on the health threat from his being unvaccinated. The detailed reasoning the Minister released after his public statement cited the danger that allowing him to stay would pose because it would fan anti-vax sentiment. His lawyers say that there is no evidence to support that claim, and that is what they say is irrational. The hearing in the Federal Court will resume tomorrow (16 Jan) at 0930.

I just saw a video summarizing all the aspects of this case.  According to Gil Gross, podcaster with Tennis magazine, Immigration Minister Hawke has conceded that prior infection in the last 6 months is a valid medical exemption.  His motivation for canceling Novak's visa is strictly politics and public relations: fear that a high-profile unvaccinated athlete being allowed to enter the country will fuel anti-vaxx sentiment in Australia.  Gross also said that the stories that Novak falsified the positive test and that he entered Spain illegally have both been debunked, although he didn't go into detail.

If the judge rules in favor of Hawke's decision, then this drama ends.  But if he rules in Novak's favor, then the government can still keep trying to deport Novak, just coming up with a different statute every time.  Who can play any tournament, much less a best-of-5 Slam, while embroiled in so much chaos?

83% of Australians think Novak's visa should be canceled, and elections are in May.  This isn't about public health.  It's always been about politics, and Alex Hawke acknowledged just that in court today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...