‘I want to come back and play on Rod Laver Arena’: Novak Djokovic’s shock admission on Australian Open

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has left the door ajar for Novak Djokovic to return to Melbourne for the 2023 Australian Open - and it seems the Serbian tennis star is preparing to do so.

Djokovic was deported on the eve of this year’s Open last month after the Federal Court upheld Mr Hawke’s decision to cancel his visa for a second time because the Serb wasn’t vaccinated.

In the video above, has Novak Djokovic finally got his COVID-19 jab?

He and Tennis Australia believed the world No.1 was eligible for a medical exemption to enter the country and compete because he had been infected with COVID-19 in December.

But despite winning his Federal Circuit Court case for initially having his visa cancelled, Djokovic was booted out upon Hawke’s personal intervention on the grounds that the tennis superstar’s perceived position could incite anti-vaccination protests.

Fast forward a few weeks, and Djokovic has revealed his plans to play on Rod Laver Arena in a new interview with Serbian TV.

“I want to come back to Australia in the future and to play on Rod Laver Arena again,” Djokovic told RTS.

“A lot of professional and personal beautiful things happened to me there. Despite all this, I have a great connection with Australia.”

The Serb finally showed some level of remorse for his controversial behaviour in the months leading up to the Australian Open, which included attending a newspaper interview after being advised of his positive PCR test.

“I admit that it was selfish what I’ve done by attending the interview with L’Equipe,” he said.

“My mistake, which I own. I understand that not all people will forgive me and I understand the critics.”

The 34-year-old said he had no regrets over the Instagram post he shared that sparked