Novak Djokovic set to compete at 2023 Australian Open with visa ban to be overturned despite vaccine row

Novak Djokovic will compete at the 2023 Australian Open with his three-year visa ban set to be overturned.

The 21-time major winner – branded an ‘anti-vax poster boy’ for his Covid-19 stance – was unable to compete at this year’s US Open as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not allow unvaccinated people to enter the USA.

Djokovic’s refusal to get the vaccine against coronavirus, a topic he has been outspoken on, saw him engulfed in a political row when he travelled out for the Australian Open earlier this year as he was eventually handed a three-year ban.

In the end he was deported from Australia and barred from playing after spending time locked up in an immigration facility, despite attempting to use a medical exemption to enter the country, meaning he could not defend his title.

But he will now return to the Australian Open two years on from his 2021 triumph as he looks to win the Grand Slam for the 10th time, with local outlet The Herald Sun reporting that government officials are set to make a U-turn on his visa ban.

If he emerges victorious in Melbourne, Djokovic would tie Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 major titles as the duo continue to battle for tennis supremacy, with the Spaniard unable to reach any of the 2022 Grand Slam finals.

The 35-year-old Serbian has already moved ahead of Roger Federer’s total of 20, having beaten Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final this summer.

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Despite lifting the trophy at SW19, Djokovic is only world No.6 after Wimbledon was stripped of its ATP ranking points due to a decision to ban