70 2GM Thursday January 13 2022 | the times
SportAustralian Open
Is anyone else’s head spinning? At first,
Novak Djokovic told us he had arrived
in Australia obeying all the rules, even
if he didn’t necessarily agree with them.
He had followed the protocols laid
down by the organisers of the Austra-
lian Open and the state regulators in
Victoria and was simply there to play a
bit of tennis. Judge Anthony Kelly,
based on what we knew at the time,
sided with the 20-times grand-slam
champion, albeit on procedural
grounds.
Then, like the early stirrings of a sink-
hole, the terra firma on which the
world’s top tennis player was standing
started to fall away. Like many people
who feel they are above the rules that
apply to the rest of us, Djokovic had
forgotten that a paper trail had been left
that would place events in a very differ-
ent light. In this case, the trail had been
unwittingly offered up by Djokovic
himself in the form of the social media
feeds that all sportspeople maintain to
maximise commercial revenues.
It didn’t take long for a photo to
emerge of him standing, unmasked, at
an award ceremony in Serbia, one day
after he claimed to have tested positive
for Covid. Then another photo,
unmasked, from an interview and
photoshoot in Belgrade. More photos
came to light, and more. At a press
conference on Monday, his family
smirked — in not dissimilar fashion to
Boris Johnson when questioned over
Downing Street parties — when asked
about these incidents. With a flourish,
they announced: “The press conference
is now adjourned,” and then linked arms
to sing a Serbian folk song.
The problem, though, was obvious to
anyone watching this affair from afar.
You can shut down a press conference,
but you cannot so easily shut down the
truth. Truth is an unusual opponent,
and rather more tenacious than the
usual suspects that you might see on
the other side of a tennis net. It is resil-
ient, persistent and highly adept at
discovering inconsistencies. You could
almost hear Djokovic’s team scram-
bling around to figure out a fresh way to
get the toothpaste back in the tube.
Yep: they would say that while Djok-
ovic had tested positive on the 16th, he
hadn’t discovered the result until after
the awards ceremony. And what of the
interview on the 18th? Sure enough,
this was an “error of judgment” but it
was committed only because dear
Novak didn’t want to let down a jour-
nalist. This, at least, is the substance of
the comedy script — sorry statement
— issued by Djokovic on Tuesday.
And yet, still the truth keeps hitting
troublesome balls from the baseline.
Djokovic claimed he had not travelled
anywhere else in the 14 days before
arriving in Melbourne but he had been
in Marbella and Belgrade. Djokovic
tried a different ruse: he admitted to the
“administrative error” but put it on his
agent, failing to remember that cus-
toms declaration forms have strict
liability. You cannot blame a false
declaration on a friend or an agent — or
the dog eating the homework.
Then, the German magazine, Der
and admire the qualities he brings to
the tennis court. Watching him rise to
global stature over the past decade and
a half has been one of the great privileg-
es of my career in sports journalism.
His victory over Roger Federer at
Wimbledon in 2019, defying a partisan
audience, was a wonder to behold, as
was his win over Rafael Nadal in the
semi-finals of last year’s French Open.
Few sportspeople have given me
greater pleasure.
But that doesn’t change one jot of the
sordid saga that has unfolded over
recent days. By the time you read this,
the story will doubtless have moved on
again. But at the end of it all we are left
with a brilliant sportsman whose
eccentric views on science have led him
into a labyrinth from which, despite his
best efforts, he is struggling to escape.
He is being slowly worn down, shot
after shot, by an opponent who doesn’t
give up. Perhaps Elvis Presley said it
best: “Truth is like the sun. You can shut
it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.”Djokovic finally meets
his match – the truth
Matthew Syedyed Timeline of the world No 1’s Covid exemption drama
November 18
Novak Djokovic’s
application for an Australian
“temporary activity” visa is
granted by the Australia’s
department of home affairs.
This is separate to the
process that he
subsequently followed for a
medical exemption.November 20
The Australian Open
tournament director, Craig
Tiley, confirms that all
players, coaches, staff and
spectators at Melbourne
Park for the 2022
tournament must be fully
vaccinated. There is no
mention at the press
conference of possible
exemptions for those who
are unvaccinated, which
raises uncertainty about
Djokovic’s participation.December 10
This was the date cited in a
Tennis Australia player
information sheet, issued
on December 6, as a
deadline for medical
exemption applications.December 14
Djokovic attends a
Euroleague basketball
match in the Serbian capital
city between Red Star
Belgrade and Barcelona. He
sits in the front row of the
packed hall and poses for a
picture with Barcelona’s
Nigel Hayes-Davis. Neither
is wearing a mask.December 16
It is confirmed that Hayes-
Davis and other attendees
at the basketball match
have tested positive for
Covid-19. Djokovic claimed
in his statement yesterday
that he then took a lateral
flow test and returned a
negative result. He then
underwent a PCR test “outof an abundance of
caution”. The timing is
unclear but on the same
day he took part in a
ceremony in Belgrade for
the unveiling of a stamp in
his honour.December 17
Djokovic presents trophies
to children at the Novak
Tennis Center in Belgrade.
After questions were raised
over when Djokovic was
informed of the result of his
PCR test, he said yesterday
that he “had not received
the notification of a positive
result until after that event”.
He added that he produced
another negative lateral
flow test beforehand and
that he was “asymptomatic
and felt good”. If, as he
claims, his PCR test was
positive he should have
commenced a 14-day period
of isolation.December 18
Djokovic takes part in an
interview and photoshoot
for the French newspaper
L’Equipe. He wears a face
mask and socially distances
for the interview with the
journalist Franck Ramella
but then removes it for
photographs. “I didn’t want
to let the journalist down,”
Djokovic said. “While I wenthome after the interview to
isolate for the required
period, on reflection, this
was an error of judgment.”December 22
Djokovic tests negative and
is not required to isolate
under regulations in Serbia.December 25
Djokovic is seen in Belgrade
playing tennis with children.
He also poses for a
photograph outside with
the Serbian handball player
Petar Djordjic.December 30
Tennis Australia informs
Djokovic two independent
health panels have
approved his application for
a medical exemption.December 31
Photographs emerge of
Djokovic training on hard
courts at a tennis academy
in the south of Spain.January 1
One of Djokovic’s agents
submits an Australia travel
declaration form on his
behalf and receives
confirmation that he has
met the requirements for a
quarantine-free arrival. But
this is an automated process
that generally providesapproval within seconds and
requires the applicant to
present relevant documents
at the border. It emerged
that Djokovic’s agent had
incorrectly declared “no” to
the question: “Have you
travelled in the 14 days
prior to your flight to
Australia?” Djokovic said
yesterday: “This was a
human error and certainly
not deliberate.”January 4
Djokovic announces to the
public for the first time that
he will compete in the
Australian Open after
receiving an exemption.January 5
Djokovic arrives at
Melbourne’s Tullamarine
airport. He is stopped at
passport control and
detained for eight hours.January 6
An Australian border force
official informs Djokovic at
that his visa is being
cancelled and he is issued
with a notice of deportation
because prior Covid-19
infection is not considered a
valid reason for entry to the
country as an unvaccinated
individual. He immediately
launches an appeal and is
allowed to stay at an
immigration detention hotel
for four nights.January 10
The federal circuit court
overturns the cancellation
of Djokovic’s visa on a
technicality. But a lawyer
acting for the government
informs the judge that the
immigration minister, Alex
Hawk, is considering using
his personal powers to
cancel the visa on new
grounds. A decision had still
not been made on this
yesterday.Spiegel, published an article throwing
serious doubt on the central strut of the
Djokovic defence. It is a somewhat
complicated story but there are pro-
found anomalies with the supposedly
positive test on the 16th. When journal-
ists scanned the QR code, they
were taken to a negative test
result on the official data-
base, which was only later
amended. Perhaps there
is an innocent explana-
tion but, given what we
now know, it would take
a generous observer to
offer Djokovic the bene-
fit of the doubt.
And this takes us to the
deeper story. If you are a public
figure, in a world of Twitter and
Instagram and iPhone cameras,
playing around with the truth may be
convenient in the short term but it is
perilous in the long term. It is particu-
larly dangerous if others are party to
the events because they representanother route whereby the truth can, in
time, come out. We have only just found
out about the Downing Street booze-
up of May 2020. In the case of Water-
gate, HR Haldeman and John Ehrlich-
man lied on behalf of Richard Nixon all
the way to jail. Initially, it was only
John Dean, the White House
counsel, who exposed the
truth.
In this context, I
wonder if anyone in
Djokovic’s inner circle is
considering breaking
cover? Have any of them
had enough of covering
up for a man who has
become the figurehead —
albeit unintentionally — of the
global antivax movement? I am not,
of course, comparing the Novak story
to Watergate in global significance;
merely in terms of the group dynamics
and psychology.
I say all this with a heavy heart. I have
met Djokovic often, like him personally,Australian
Open
January 17-30
Melbourne Park
TV: Eurosport 1 & 2Tennis agrees to Netflix seriesTennis chiefs have given the green
light for a Netflix television
documentary series. Based on
Formula One’s successful Drive to
Survive programme, it will cover
events behind the scenes on the
tour throughout this season.
A camera crew is in attendance at
the Australian Open and, while there
is unlikely to be direct footage of
Novak Djokovic’s issues at the
border, the saga is likely to feature.
The series will be produced by the
London-based Box to Box films and
it is understood that there will be
particular focus on Stefanos
Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Elina
Svitolina and Maria Sakkari. Footage
at Wimbledon will also feature after
All England Club officials approved
access. Netflix also confirmed a
similar series on golf will be made.