WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Novak Djokovic was included in the draw for the Australian Open — but he’s still waiting to learn if he can stay in the country.
All eyes are now on Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, who must decide whether to deport the tennis star, effectively overruling a judge who said Djokovic could stay in Australia despite questions about his exemption to COVID-19 vaccination rules.
It’s a decision that has legal, political, sporting and diplomatic consequences.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Australia has strict rules requiring vaccination against the coronavirus to enter the country. Djokovic’s case is all about whether he had a valid exemption to those rules.
His lawyers have argued that since he had COVID-19 in December, he did. Victoria state government and Tennis Australia, the tournament organizer, approved that exemption, apparently allowing him to receive a visa to travel.
But federal government lawyers have argued an infection is only grounds for an exemption in cases where the coronavirus caused severe illness.
It’s not clear why he was issued a visa if that’s the case. Tennis Australia has complained that guidelines on exemptions were confusing and changed frequently.
The Australian Border Force revoked Djokovic’s visa on arrival. They put him in an immigration detention hotel and intended to deport him.
But when the case went before a judge, he ruled in Djokovic’s favour — on procedural grounds, saying the tennis player didn’t get enough time to consult with his lawyers at the border.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Hawke’s office will consider the original decision to grant Djokovic a visa.
It will also likely consider the fact that Djokovic’s travel declaration form contains errors. The tennis player acknowledged Wednesday on social media that the form incorrectly says he hadn’t travelled in 14 days prior to his arrival in Australia.
Djokovic blamed “human error” by his support team and said it wasn’t deliberate.
The immigration minister has significant discretion in the matter and can revoke Djokovic’s visa again and deport him on public health grounds, character grounds and for a variety of other reasons.
While deliberating on the Djokovic case, Hawke is said to have separated his office from other parts of the government to avoid any impression of political interference.
WHAT HAPPENS IF AUSTRALIA REVOKES HIS VISA AGAIN?
Djokovic’s lawyers are expected immediately to seek an injunction. That would send the matter back to Federal Court, and that could take a while to play out.
It could mean he’s able to compete in the Australian Open in the meantime — attempting to win a record 21st Grand Slam title. Tournament organizers included him in the draw Thursday, and he is slated to play fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic next week.
But Djokovic also might have to return to a detention facility during the legal proceedings.
If he is ultimately deported, he might not be able to reapply for an Australian visa for three years. Djokovic is 34, and such a hiatus might mean he won’t have another chance to win the Australian title.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT HIM NOT ISOLATING AFTER BECOMING INFECTED?
It’s not clear if this would affect his Australian visa, but Djokovic was out in public after his positive coronavirus test.
In his statement Wednesday, Djokovic acknowledged that he kept a date for an interview in December with French newspaper L’Equipe after learning he was positive — saying he maintained his distance from the journalists and was masked, except during a photoshoot. The writer who interviewed him said he has since tested negative; he did not mention the photographer.
Djokovic said he went ahead with the interview because he “didn’t want to let the journalist down” but conceded it was an “error of judgment.”
After the interview, he said he followed isolation rules. At the time, Serbia required those infected with COVID-19 to isolate for at least 14 days. But Djokovic was seen a little over a week after his positive test on the streets of Belgrade, though he said he had tested negative in between.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic indicated that her government will take a stand once it gets all the facts about Djokovic’s whereabouts during the isolation period, but it has yet to publicly react.
HOW DO AUSTRALIANS FEEL ABOUT THIS?
Public support seems to have ebbed and flowed for Djokovic during the drama.
The initial decision to grant the unvaccinated star an exemption led to an outcry. Many felt Djokovic was being given special treatment, since Australians have faced almost two years of strict border controls during the pandemic.
Some also looked askance at allowing a prominent vaccine skeptic an exemption to pass through the border in a country in which 91.3% of the eligible population is vaccinated.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce summed up that discontent.
“The vast majority of Australians … didn’t like the idea that another individual, whether they’re a tennis player or … the king of Spain or the queen of England, can come up here and have a different set of rules to what everybody else has to deal with,” he said.
But this drama has had a lot of plot twists.
Public sympathy turned a little in Djokovic’s favour when he was held for four days in an immigration detention hotel. And when the Federal Circuit Court ruled in his favour, there was concern the mishandling of the visa cancellation painted Australia in a bad light.
More recent revelations of Djokovic’s behaviour after he tested positive may have swung the pendulum against him again.
Back in his native Serbia, many have rallied to Djokovic’s side, particularly the country’s politicians.
WHAT IS THE POLITICS OF THIS?
When news broke last week that Djokovic had been detained at the border and his visa cancelled, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was quick to embrace the decision.
Morrison’s government had been under pressure as the omicron variant swept across Australia, raising questions about his recent strategy to loosen restrictions. He may have sensed a political win in a decision that made him look tough on immigration. He has had less to say since the court overturned the cancellation of Djokovic’s visa, allowing the legal process to play out.
But Anthony Albanese, leader of the opposition Labor Party, has been scathing in his criticism of the government.
“This has been diabolical for Australia’s reputation, just in terms of our competence here and it is extraordinary that as we are speaking we still don’t know what the decision will be,” Albanese said. “The decision should have been made before he was granted a visa. Either he was eligible or he wasn’t.”
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
