The case of Novak Djokovic (34) never ends!
Now it is leaking that the Australian tennis association “Tennis Australia” is said to have financed a large part of the superstar’s trip to the Australian Open and is also taking over the legal costs.
At least that’s what the former district mayor of Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne, says, John Locco. In a podcast, he makes several allegations that he claims to have heard from an employee of Tennis Australia and from documents that he saw himself.
Photo: Mark Baker/AP
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/mehr-als-training-war-fuer-novak-djokovic-in-diesem-year-in-melbourne-nicht-drin-1b886f0722014dc6aa7c6815299f4f6d- 78882804/image/2.image.jpg”/> There was nothing more than training for Novak Djokovic in Melbourne this yearPhoto: Mark Baker/AP
Accordingly, “Tennis Australia” filled out all visa applications for players and officials, including that for Djokovic. Relevant data was requested. It could have happened that his travel activity was incorrectly reported in the two weeks before departure to Down Under by his management submitting incorrect information.
Djokovic himself is said not to have known what Tennis Australia wrote in the documents. Basically it’s his fault not to check it again himself. The Serb could have imagined that his request to get an exception permit would be explosive.
Financially it will be interesting. Tennis Australia is said to have paid for Djokovic to fly from Dubai to Melbourne. In addition, the association allegedly also assumed the costs for the house that Djokovic had rented for the time of the tournament, but which he was never able to move into because he switched between a deportation hotel and a player hotel.
All players get their hotel room paid for, but it’s unusual for a whole house (costs up to 8,000 euros) to be taken over.
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/novak-djokovic-m–bei-seiner-ankunft-in-belgrad-c268fce4994543f2ad9229f7f177fb80-78882810/2,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="Novak Djokovic (M.) bei seiner Ankunft in Belgrad" data-zoom-title="Novak Djokovic (M.) bei seiner Ankunft in Belgrad
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Novak Djokovic (centre) upon his arrival in BelgradePhoto: Darko Bandic / AP
Locco goes on to claim that Tennis Australia also paid his legal fees. They should have been around 50,000 euros, as announced last week. The extremely rich tennis professional would have been able to bear the costs himself.
Unlike Renata Voracova (38). The double specialist was expelled in the course of the Djokovic case. She, too, had entered the country unvaccinated with an exceptional permit and also asked Tennis Australia for help. But her application for (financial) support was rejected.
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/im-gegensatz-zu-novak-djokovic-bekam-renata-voracova-keine-hilfe-von-tennis-australia-cdd1ea31d72d41d1a32fd9732af87bdf-78882814/2,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="Im Gegensatz zu Novak Djokovic bekam Renata Voracova keine Hilfe von Tennis Australia" data-zoom-title="Im Gegensatz zu Novak Djokovic bekam Renata Voracova keine Hilfe von Tennis Australia
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Unlike Novak Djokovic, Renata Voracova didn’t get any help from Tennis AustraliaFoto: Darron Cummings/dpa
She now wants to ask the association again to reimburse her expenses such as flights and lost prize money and otherwise take legal action. She had already played a preparatory tournament in Australia without being bothered.
Locco assured the Herald Sun that his source was 100 percent credible and legitimate. “Novak came to Australia in good faith and was slandered,” Locco told the newspaper.
Tennis Australia did not want to comment when asked, which gives a deep insight.
