"The entire situation was a bit of a circus but I really don't attribute too much of that to Novak Djokovic" - Christopher Eubanks on the Serb's deportation from Australia

Ever since Novak Djokovic's visa was canceled and he was sent home from Australia in January due to his unvaccinated status against COVID-19, the Serb has received a lot of support from around the world.

The latest to show solidarity with the tennis icon is 137th-ranked Christopher Eubanks of America. After Djokovic recently said that he was expecting a positive answer from Australia in the next few weeks regarding his chances of playing the first Grand Slam of 2023, Eubanks hoped for his wish to come true.

During a discussion on the Tennis Channel, the 26-year-old stated that the Australian government provided the wrong information to the Serb in January, as a result of which, he thought he could compete.

"I hope Novak is able to play this Australian Open, I mean the entire situation was a bit of a circus at times but I really don't attribute too much of that to Novak Djokovic," Eubanks said. "I think there was a lot of blame to go around between Tennis Australia and the Australian government, maybe relaying information or maybe the wrong information. Novak came, he thought he was going to be able to compete and because he was given the wrong information, he was deported."

Calling the entire episode an "unfortunate incident," Eubanks further said that the 21-time Major winner followed whatever rules he was told.

"We know the rule that if you're deported, you cannot get a visa for three years. We understand all that. However, I do believe that Novak will be able to play, I hope that he is able to play, I hope that they are able to come to some type of compromise that will allow him to compete because by his own definition, he tried to follow the rules that were put before him and it just was a very unfortunate incident how it all went down," he added.

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"It's not fair to Nadal" - Commentator Brian Clark on fans putting asterisk on 2022 Australian Open due to Novak Djokovic's absence

Novak Djokovic (L) and Rafael Nadal

At the 2022 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal returned from a six-month break, won the championship, and became the first male player to reach 21 Majors. However, Novak Djokovic's fans claimed that Nadal wouldn't have won if the Serb was allowed to play and called it "a win with an asterisk."

Speaking on 'Courtside: The US Open Podcast' recently, tennis commentator Brian Clark defended the Spaniard, saying that a player can only play the players in front of him and that Nadal defeated everyone he faced fair and square.

"People will put an asterisk next to Nadal winning the Australian Open because Djokovic has made that his personal tournament. I think it's not fair to Nadal because he can only play who is in front of him and he beat everybody in front of him," Clark said.