BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Novak Djokovic described his detention and deportation from Australia that prevented him from defending his Australian Open title as an "unfortunate event" and thanked the Serbian president for his support.
An 11-day saga over Djokovic's entry visa ended with the Serb being deported for failing to meet Australia's strict COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
The top-ranked tennis star met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday and described the events in Australia as "unexpected, to say the least."
"I wanted to meet with you today because, primarily as a citizen of Serbia, I felt a great need to thank you for great support that you, as the president of Serbia, gave me, as well as all state institutions during the unfortunate events in Australia," Djokovic said.
"Although I was alone in detention, and faced with many problems and challenges, I wasn't feeling lonely. I had huge support primarily from my family, all of the close people in my life, entire Serbian nation, many people with good intentions from the region and the world."
