World’s No. 1 men’s tennis player Novak Djokovic arrived at the Dubai airport from Australia after deportation over the Covid-19 related vaccination requirement. This deportation has ended the hopes of defending his Australian Open title.
The tennis player came to Dubai through the Emirates plane, which touched down the land after a 13 and a half-hour journey from Melbourne.
Dubai International Airport was quite busy on early Monday morning as the flights from Australia, and Asia commenced to land. The passengers needed to wear a face mask or a face shield to collect their bags.
For now, there are no reports about Djokovis’ next travel plane. However, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis tournament will not start until February 14. The champion won the tournament in the year 2020.
Djokovic has bagged around nine Australian Open titles; out of these, three were earned in a row. He is among the tennis players who have won most of the Grand Slam singles trophies in the history of men’s tennis.
He has tied the Grand Slam trophies with his rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. However, Federer is not participating in the tournament as he has been recovering from injury, and Nadal is the only former Australian Open men’s champion in the tournament that started on Monday.
Novak’s visa was initially cancelled by the border official on January 6, as he didn’t qualify for the medical exemption for unvaccinated visitors. The board also exempted his participation in the tournament as he was infected with the virus last month. As per Australia’s vaccine rule, the player who has tested positive to Covid-19 within the previous six months can’t participate in the tournament.
The government accepted his appeal to play in the tournament, but later the immigration minister revoked his visa, and on Sunday, the three judges of the Federal Court of Australia unanimously decided to support the minister, and Novak’s visa was cancelled.
Novak’s entry in Australia banned for three years –
On Friday, Novak has been banned from entering Australia for the next three years; the Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews confirmed the statement.
Dubai: Covid-19 travel rules for international flyers –
As per the Covid-19 rules of the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates, international travellers don’t need to be fully vaccinated, but they must show their negative PCR test to board a flight.