Novak Djokovic: Russian WTA star slams Serbian for craving love from public

The Australian Open may be all tied up with new men’s and women’s champions, but the Novak Djokovic debacle continues to be a conversation piece among many.

The world number one was not able to defend his title in Melbourne after issues with his visa ultimately resulted in his deportation from the country.

Djokovic had initially been granted medical exemption from Australia’s vaccination rules but was detained upon arrival after border officials found problems with his visa.

The Serbian raised an appeal, which was approved, and he was allowed to enter Australia.

It seemed as though Djokovic’s luck was in but a final decision then ruled against him and he was forced to return home.

The Australian Open saga was one of the hottest topics in world sport and many tennis stars, both past and present, aired their thoughts on the situation.

Martina Navrátilová said she could not defend the Serb’s decision to not be vaccinated against the virus and stressed the whole thing “could have been avoided.”

Russian star Daria Kasatkina is one of the latest to have her say on Djokovic’s Australian deportation and admitted she believed it would have been “unpleasant” for all the other players in Melbourne had he been permitted to compete.

“Because we all made some kind of sacrifice, we accepted the rules of the game in order to play,” she told Eurosport.

“Novak wanted to go his own way. If he was allowed to play with all the set of absurdities that eventually happened, it would not be fair to the players.”

Kasatkina reached the third round of the 2022 Australian Open, where she was knocked out by Poland’s Iga Świątek.

The world number 21 claimed Djokovic is determined to make sure people love him and she compared this attitude to that of