John Feinstein: Djokovic turning himself into a punchline

Novak Djokovic, a nine-time champion at the Australian Open is currently in a detention hotel while appealing a ruling by the Australian government that he doesn’t qualify for a medical exemption to the country’s coronavirus vaccine requirement. Andy Brownbill/Associated Press

Novak Djokovic is the world’s No. 1 men’s tennis player and may end up as the greatest male player of all time. There are some who think he’s already there.

But he’s also a punchline now, something few truly great athletes ever become. Aaron Rodgers certainly did his best when he got caught misleading the public about whether he had been vaccinated for COVID-19, and Antonio Brown took it a step further when he obtained a fake vaccination card.

But neither of them were detained by border officials in Australia and held in a hotel while a court weighs deportation.

Like Rodgers and Brown, Djokovic got himself into an embarrassing mess because he thought he was above the rules of COVID decency and refused to get the vaccination that most people understand they need.

Djokovic certainly wasn’t alone in creating the debacle that unfolded when he landed in Melbourne late Wednesday night and was refused entry into the country. One day earlier, Tennis Australia, which runs the Australian Open, had announced that Djokovic was being granted a “medical exemption,” allowing him to compete in the tournament even though he is apparently unvaccinated.

Thinking he’d beaten the system, Djokovic landed in Australia, only to find that the government didn’t really care that Tennis Australia desperately wants him to attempt to win a record-setting 21st Grand Slam title, beginning Jan. 17 at Melbourne Park. The Australian Open is the fourth-most important of the four tennis majors, but it was set to receive an extra dose of international attention with Djokovic going for a 10th Australian title and a 21st Slam title, which would vault him past Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the two icons who also have 20 major titles.

Federer is 40 and hasn’t played since last July at Wimbledon. He won’t be in Australia because he’s still recovering from knee surgery last summer. Whether he will ever play again – much less contend for another major – is in doubt. Nadal is 35 and will play in Australia, but Djokovic beat him at the French Open last spring, an almost unthinkable upset given that Nadal has won there 13 times.

The French Open was the second of Djokovic’s three major wins last year – he also won in Australia and at Wimbledon and came within a whisker of being the second man in history to win a calendar Grand Slam when he reached the U.S. Open final, only to lose to Daniil Medvedev.

Still, at 34, it felt as if his coronation as the all-time winner of men’s major titles was little more than a formality, especially with Australia – his “home court” – next up on the calendar.

Except Djokovic found a way to mess it up.

Which is very much a part of his history and his legacy. In 2020, during the COVID-stricken U.S. Open, he got himself defaulted when he launched a ball off his racket in disgust after losing serve and hit a lineswoman in the neck. The fact that it was an accident was irrelevant and Djokovic, who seemed a near-lock to win the tournament with Federer and Nadal both not playing, was gone before the end of the first week.

He has, in fact, kept himself in the news off the court since the pandemic began. He put together an exhibition event in Serbia and Croatia that summer with few COVID precautions, leading to an outbreak in which he and his wife, among others, tested positive. Since then, he has repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether he’s vaccinated, making it clear that he’s not.

For months, Australian Open officials insisted that no one – players, staff members, media or fans – would be allowed into their tournament without proof of vaccination or a valid medical exemption. Djokovic applied for the latter and, on Tuesday, without explaining why, tournament director Craig Tiley announced that Djokovic had been granted the exemption by “two independent panels” and would be allowed to compete.

Needless to say, this set off an uproar in Australia, where strict COVID protocols have helped keep the death toll down. A year ago, during the tournament in Melbourne, fans were frequently forced to leave the stadium with matches still going on because of strict curfews.

No one was buying Tiley’s claim that Djokovic wasn’t being granted a special privilege. Tiley refused to name the other players who had supposedly received similar exemptions, and refused to explain why Djokovic’s exemption was granted. Djokovic, who would be free to do so, hasn’t given any explanation as to why he applied for an exemption.

In short, if you believe Djokovic wasn’t granted a special privilege, Tiley has some oceanfront land in the Australian Outback he’d like to sell you.

One person who clearly hasn’t bought Tiley’s claims is Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

“Mr. Djokovic’s visa has been canceled,” Morrison wrote in a tweet after Djokovic was detained. “Rules are rules especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules. Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant.”

No hedging there.

The shame in all this is that Djokovic should be venerated by tennis fans the way Federer and Nadal are venerated. The fact that the three stars have each won 20 major titles – Pete Sampras held the record at 14 until they came along – while competing against one another for the bulk of their careers is extraordinary.

Djokovic came up behind Federer and Nadal and for years has been viewed by many, if not most, tennis fans as an uninvited interloper. Often, he is the black hat to the crowd when playing one of the other two. And yet, he has always hung in and proven to be their competitive equal – at least.

At his best, Djokovic is smart and thoughtful and – in my opinion – likable. At his worst, he is bafflingly stupid for someone who is clearly bright.

He has often treated COVID like those who insist it’s little more than a cold, despite the horrifying numbers worldwide that make it clear that’s not the case. Now, he’s also turned it into a political issue, one in which there appear to be no good guys.

Sadly, this is not unusual for tennis, which has about a dozen different ruling bodies, all of which manage to do a lousy job of running the sport. When everyone claims to be in charge, no one is in charge.

And now, Djokovic has become the leading man in an international incident. He may yet get to play in Melbourne, and if he does, the tournament will be a soap opera for as long as he’s still playing.

Or, he won’t get to play and will face the embarrassment of being deported and missing a chance – at least for the moment – to become the all-time champion of men’s tennis.

No one has worked harder to be taken seriously as a great champion than Djokovic. Now, he’s become a sad joke.