Djoko dream in peril

No vax, no visa, no play

MANILA, Philippines — Australia’s government cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time Friday as it sought to deport the tennis superstar after he arrived in the country without a COVID-19 vaccine.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said he acted on “health and good order grounds on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government “is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hawke said in a statement.

The cancellation effectively means Djokovic would be barred from a new Australian visa for three years, except under certain circumstances.

The visa decision put the Serbian world number one’s dream of a 10th Australian Open title and a record 21st Grand Slam in peril.

Djokovic is the tournament’s top seed and had been practicing on the Melbourne Park courts a few hours earlier.

The megastar flew into Melbourne airport on Jan. 5 claiming a vaccine exemption because of a positive PCR test result on Dec. 16.

Border agents rejected his exemption, tore up his visa and placed him in a notorious Melbourne detention center where he spent four nights.

The Australian government insists a recent infection does not qualify as a vaccine exemption for foreign nationals trying to enter the country.

Djokovic’s top-flight legal team dramatically overturned the visa decision because border officials at the airport had failed to give him the agreed time to respond.

The visa battle with Djokovic is politically charged in Australia, which has endured nearly two years of some of the toughest coronavirus restrictions in the world.

General elections must be called by May.

Some tennis players say Djokovic should now be allowed to play, but not all have been supportive.

World number four Stefanos Tsitsipas criticized his behavior.