These could be happy moments for the world number 7, Novak Djokovic who was previously branded an ‘anti-vax poster boy’ for his Covid-19 stance and was unable to compete at this year’s US Open as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not allow unvaccinated people to enter the USA with the 21-time major winner now reported to be legible to compete at the 2023 Australian Open following his three-year visa ban set to be overturned.
The 35-year-old’s refusal to get the vaccine against coronavirus, has seen him engulfed in a political row when he travelled out for the Australian Open earlier this year as he was eventually handed a three-year ban especially as the Serbian has been outspoken on the topic.
National Daily recalls that the former World number 1 was deported from Australia and barred from playing after being locked up in an immigration facility where he spent some time, despite his attempt to use a medical exemption to enter the country as he was unable to defend his title.
But National Daily can now confirm from the report by the local outlet The Herald Sun that Djokovic will return to the Australian Open two years on from his 2021 triumph as he looks to win the Grand Slam for the 10th time, with the government officials set to make a U-turn on his visa ban.
And the 35-year-old who has already moved ahead of Roger Federer’s total of 20 after beating Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final this summer will be able to tie Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 major titles if he is able to conquer at Melbourne as the duo continue to battle for tennis supremacy, with the Spaniard unable to reach any of the 2022 Grand Slam finals.
Djokovic achieved a remarkable feat of Surface Slam last year, when he won the hard-court Australian Open, clay-based Roland Garros and grass-based Wimbledon.