"Australia's Day of Shame" - Former MP Craig Kelly on Novak Djokovic's deportation from Down Under in 2022

Australia's former Member of Parliament Craig Kelly recently expressed his dismay at the treatment meted out to Novak Djokovic last year. Back then, the 24-time Major winner was denied entry into the country over his COVID-19 vaccination status, which went on to give him plenty of grief.

The Serb's bid to play at the 2022 Australian Open hit its roadblock upon his arrival Down Under. Djokovic's medical exemption from taking the COVID-19 vaccine was found to be dubious by the Australian Border Force (ABF), who apprehended him at the Melbourne airport for nine hours.

Djokovic's visa was subsequently canceled, and he was detained in a facility for five days as his lawyers filed an injunction to reverse the process. The federal court eventually reinstated his visa as they found procedural errors in ABF's handling of the situation.

However, just when it was beginning to seem like the Serb would be allowed to play the Happy Slam, the-then Prime Minister Scott Morrison's politics reared its ugly head. The Aussie was able to stir the local public against the Serb, inferring that he would "excite anti-vaccination sentiment" with his presence in the country.

Morrison's swaying of public opinion then gave Alex Hawke, Minister for Immigration, however, enough impetus to cancel Djokovic's visa once again on the eve of the 2022 Australian Open, effectively ending the Serb's chance to compete at the event.

Earlier on Friday (September 15), former MP Craig Kelly took to social media to look back on the above events with great disappointment, going as far as to call it "Australia’s Day of Shame".

He also denounced the Morrison administration for deporting Djokovic over politically-motivated reasons, without thinking of the ramifications.

"Australia’s Day of Shame. The decision to deport Novak was a metaphor of everything that was wrong with the Morrison regime - no principles and forever chasing what they thought would be popular tomorrow, without a concern for the long-term consequences," he wrote on X.

Novak Djokovic had the last laugh in the end as Scott Morrison was not re-elected as Prime Minister

The 24-time Major winner pictured at the French Open

While Novak Djokovic had admittedly never experienced a lower point in his professional tennis career, he didn't let the negativity bog him down for too long. He eventually triumphed at Wimbledon a few months after the incident.

The Serb then went on an absolute tear during the fall season in 2022, after he had been denied entry for the US Open over vaccine mandates. He only lost one match between October 2022 and January 2023, taking home five titles during the period. The last of those triumphs came at this year's Australian Open, where he only dropped one set in all of his seven matches.

After slowing down midway through the season, Djokovic steadied the ship by winning his third Roland Garros title in June. The 36-year-old also made his return to the 2023 US Open as the vaccine policies for entry were removed. This decision served him well, as he went on to win a record-tying 24th Major title in New York, much to the tennis community's delight.

Scott Morrison, meanwhile, suffered defeat at the hands of the Liberty Party of Australia as he sought a second full term at the 2022 Australian federal election. The local public had grown increasingly at odds with Morrison's policies. Thus, in the end, the Serb's career flourished immensely, while the Aussie politician bit the dust at the same time.