Sam Groth: Why no-one comes out looking good from the Novak Djokovic saga

There was the court circus, the hotel detention and the political muscle flexing. But the worst part of the Djokovic saga came to the fore on Monday, writes Sam Groth.

Novak Djokovic being deported hours before the Australian Open started isn’t the way any of us saw 2022 starting let’s be honest.

And while I’m not surprised by the decision (I don’t think many people were in the end), the way it played out was a shambles. No-one comes out of it looking good.

But besides the circus of the court hearings, Djokovic constantly moving back and forth to the detention hotel and the political ‘muscle flexing’, the fact this debacle really started impacting other players leading into a grand slam was ridiculous.

Novak Djokovic leaves the Marhaba lounge at Melbourne Airport for flight back to Europe. Picture: Shane McInnes/Twitter

Twelve days into the Djokovic show, and with the final court hearing underway, the Australian Open schedule of play was not confirmed.

Players, many of whom knew they would play Monday, had no idea what time it would be. As a player this really impacts your preparations, your eating plans, your sleep schedule and when you practice. Everything centres around your start time.

We had 63 men’s players and 64 women’s players scheduled for Monday all in limbo until 5pm the day before a grand slam. That’s ridiculous.

Player control and choice was removed.

Organisers really got this wrong. There was no need for things to run any different than they normally do. Release the schedule on Saturday and swap in the lucky loser when Djokovic is deported. Everyone got screwed over because of one man and he’s not even here.

It’s little surprise then that there hasn’t been a huge outpouring of sympathy for Novak from the players.

Fans pass by the draw outside Rod Laver Arena. Picture: David Caird

Of course the usual suspects - Tennys Sandgren, Vasek Pospisil and Sergiy Stakhovsky - are standing in solidarity with their friend.

And perhaps the biggest surprise is to see Nick Kyrgios in Djokovic’s corner and telling the world about their new ‘bromance’.

But there’s a lot of quiet frustration from others.

We have 97 per cent of players here fully vaccinated. They did what they had to do in order to play. Even those that didn’t want to have been jabbed.

If you’re one of them wouldn’t you be frustrated that a guy refusing to follow suit was trying to get in via a loophole?

Whether they thought he should be deported or not the fact is the playing group believe Djokovic should have done what was stipulated in the rules.

Even Sandgren - one of Djokovic’s staunchest supporters and a renowned anti-vaxxer – decided not to travel here because he knew he had no grounds for an exemption.

Maybe Djokovic should have followed his lead.

Tennys Sandgren has been very vocal in his support of Novak. Picture: Michael Klein

The Australian Open is no worse off with Djokovic not here. Let’s not forget Serena Williams and Roger Federer aren’t playing either and at one stage it was unknown if Kyrgios would be able to compete after contracting Covid.

The tournament still goes on and we get a look at players for the future. There’s more than one storyline to follow.

We’ve lost one name out of 128 men. Sure he was the title favourite but doesn’t that now make the men’s draw less predictable and by default maybe more exciting? That’s a good thing.

Every year we have big names missing from slams and every year each tournament produces incredible storylines, heroic moments and unforgettable duels.

This Aus Open will be no different and Djokovic will be back.

I doubt very much the three year ban will be upheld.

The guy is looking for a 10th title here, you think he won’t come back?

Of course he will. He’ll just triple check his paperwork next time.

What’s happened this year is never going to be forgotten and the impact it stands to have on the rest of 2022 is significant.

Novak Djokovic will be on the hunt for his 10th Aus Open title next year. Picture: Michael Klein

How many events can he compete in unvaccinated? How does he get another exemption if a country has a no vax no entry policy? Will tournaments be changing their rules in a bid to avoid the debacle we’ve just witnessed?

There’s always controversy that pops up in sport, but now my genuine hope is that we can start to move past this one and talk about the tennis.

We don’t need to ask every player about it, we don’t need to make this all about one person again.

The only player that needs to front up and speak at some stage is Djokovic. There’s a lot of questions to answer.

To his credit, we’ve been told he has no plans to speak until after the tournament and it’s a good decision from him.

Don’t take any more airtime away from the event and go have some time to process what has just happened.

I think we all need to, because a world No 1 being detained at the airport, thrown in and out of an immigration hotel, dragged through the court system and ultimately deported 24 hours out from a grand slam is absolutely insane.

Originally published as Sam Groth: Why no-one comes out looking good from the Novak Djokovic saga