Novak Djokovic saga: Tennis coach told to leave Australia after Djokovic used same exemption

A Croatian tennis coach with the exact same medical exemption as Novak Djokovic entered Australia easily. But then the tennis star arrived and he was gone.

A Croatian tennis coach, who was one of nine international visitors granted a medical exemption for the Australian Open, claims he only had to leave Australia because Novak Djokovic became a Federal Government political target.

Filip Serdarusic, brother and coach of world No.246 Nino Serdarusic, entered Australia via an identical medical exemption three days before Djokovic arrived in Melbourne.

Serdarusic said Australian Border Force officials initially claimed he may need to do 14 days of quarantine as he was unvaccinated, but after checking his exemption paperwork and taking copies, he was allowed to freely enter the country.

It was only when the Djokovic saga blew up a few days later that his entry status became an issue.

Filip Serdarusic claims he only had to leave the country because of the Novak Djokovic saga. Picture: Supplied

“On the day Novak (Djokovic) landed in Melbourne, I received a call and was told that the

day after I should come for an interview with the immigration officers,” Serdarusic said.

“I am not vaccinated, but I got infected with coronavirus in October. We had a plan B, but

since we have been presented with the opportunity to request a medical exemption based on a

recent infection, I decided to go for it.

”I had prepared my positive PCR test and my antibodies findings, which were then sent to Tennis Australia by my agent. I got the green light, I think I received an email somewhere around the 10th of December.”

It is understood Serdarusic was one of nine medical exemptions approved by Tennis Australia, with Djokovic and Croatian female doubles player Renata Voracova the only players and the rest either coaches, media or event staff.

The Serdarusic brothers flew with one of the charters Tennis Australia had organised for players and their staff.

As soon as he showed his passport, Serdarusic was asked whether he was vaccinated by a member of the ABF.

“I answered that I wasn’t and that I was granted an exemption. She separated me from the

other passengers, asked for my documents and told me that I might have to quarantine for 14

days,” said Serdarusic before adding that everything was cleared up quickly.

“The lady from the ABF called her boss, I assume, who looked at my papers, took some

photos of them and told me that I am allowed to enter the country freely.”

The Serdarusic brothers spent three days in Melbourne before travelling to Traralgon for a

challenger event when Djokovic landed at Tullamarine Airport.

Serdarusic was one of nine players, coaches and staff with medical exemptions, along with Novak Djokovic Picture: AFP

“The day Novak Djokovic landed, I got a call from the immigration centre at 10pm telling

me that I needed to come for an interview tomorrow, the day before my brother was due to

play,” he said.

“I was presented with two options – either to legally fly home with no further issues, or to

reapply for my visa.

“Given that my potential new application would almost certainly be rejected, since they made the decision that a recent Covid-19 infection was not good enough grounds for an exemption, I decided to pack up and just leave.

“I am not as big as Novak, I don’t have the resources to fight it. If they stopped him, I guess they had to come for the rest of us as well.”

Now back home in Zagreb, Filip is appalled by everything that has been going on in

Melbourne.

“I see people making all kinds of nasty comments. I will just say this: when we applied for a

visa, we had to meet the requirements,” he said.

“Neither Novak nor I invented the idea of a medical exemption – we did everything by their rules and we were granted a visa. The thing is, nobody can get politically stronger using my name, but Djokovic is such a high-profile player – that is why all of this is happening.

“Novak seems like an ideal target before the elections. We just used a possibility we were

given.

“I feel that the people in TA were hoping that Novak would enter the country just like

we did. If Novak wasn’t coming, the Czech player Voracova and me would still be in

Australia.”

Sasa Ozmo is a journalist for Sport Klub Serbia