Drawn-out visa row frustrates players

Australian Open players are sick of the Novak Djokovic saga and want the spotlight back on tennis, say Australian men’s No.1 Alex de Minaur and Spanish great Rafael Nadal.

The visa drama of Djokovic has dominated the build-up to the year’s first grand slam, with the playing status of the nine-time Open champion still to be decided in court today.

Djokovic has had his visa cancelled twice and faces deportation unless he is successful with the hastily- arranged court action ahead of of the Open first round starting tomorrow.

The Australian government yesterday argued in court that his presence throughout the two weeks of the Australian Open may put lives and civil order at risk by increasing anti-vax sentiment and disregard for Covid-19 rules.

In a radical reframing of the case against the Serbian tennis star, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke conceded the unvaccinated Djokovic entered Australia with a valid medical exemption and poses a low risk of contracting the virus while in Australia and passing it on to others due to his recent infection.

The furious debate that had engulfed Djokovic for the past 10 days – whether a recent bout of Covid-19 provided him with a genuine exemption to travel to Australia without being vaccinated – has been abandoned by the government without Hawke even reading Djokovic’s extensive submissions on the question.

Instead, the case was argued on dramatically new grounds at a Federal Court public hearing before Justice David O’Callaghan yesterday.

Regardless of all that court action, those more focused on the courts at Melbourne Park see it differently.

De Minaur said he was frustrated by the ongoing focus on the Serbian superstar.

‘‘This whole situation has

taken a lot of spotlight away from us competitors,’’ the world No.34 said yesterday.

‘‘I’m just ready to put all of this behind me and focus on playing my tennis matches . . . we all just want to get on with our own stuff.’’

Nadal, who is level with Djokovic with 20 grand slam victories, was also weary of questions about the world No.1.

Winner of the Australian Open in 2009, Nadal said the tournament wouldn’t lose its lustre without Djokovic.

‘‘It’s very clear that Novak Djokovic is one of the best players of the history, without a doubt,’’ the 35-year-old said.

‘‘But there is no one player in history that’s more important than an event.’’

Nadal recently overcame Covid-19 while De Minaur battled the virus last year, with his form and rankings sliding as he struggled to fully recover.

De Minaur said Australians had had it tough, and had done a lot of work to protect their borders. Djokovic had made his choice not to vaccinate.

British champion Andy Murray said he felt for longtime rival Djokovic and hoped the issue could be resolved as soon as possible.

‘‘I’m not going to sit here and start kicking Novak whilst he’s down.’’