'Rumbling in the background of the Djokovic debacle is Australia's Covid-19 surge, with the Omicron variant posing a fresh threat just as states were loosening restrictions,' Stephanie Myles writes for CNNOpinion
Stephanie Myles is the Montreal-based publisher of the tennis news site Open Court who has reported from the Australian Open since 2008. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.
This was not part of Novak Djokovic's plan. The tennis star who posed with a big grin Tuesday, planes on the tarmac behind him, announcing that he'd been granted a medical exemption to play at the Australian Open and was about to fly Down Under, was instead about to embark on a saga of epic proportions.
Had things gone according to Djokovic's plans, he would have arrived in Australia Wednesday night and be out on Rod Laver Arena in the Melbourne summer sun by Friday at the latest, working out the kinks from the flight and preparing for the Australian Open. Instead, Djokovic spent Wednesday night at Tullamarine Airport.
'A disgrace': See how some Australians are reacting to Djokovic visa row 01:42 However you might feel about the polarizing Djokovic, there's not a scenario where he ever deserved this. It's unlikely the world's No. 1 tennis player would have got on the long commercial flight to Melbourne had he not been given a green light from tournament officials.
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