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sports Diaranson 12 Januari 2022

Djokovic back into swing in Australia, visa questions linger

(AP) — Novak Djokovic skeptic of vaccines was first most important events we
held a practice session on granted a visa to travel to Mel- have in front of the amazing
Tuesday, a day after he left bourne, many complained he fans.”
immigration detention, was being given special treat-
focusing on defending his ment from a country known But he still faces the prospect
Australian Open title even for its strict travel restrictions of deportation before the first
while he still faces the during the pandemic. match.
prospect of deportation
because he’s not vaccinat- But amid a flood of confus- Djokovic was given an ex-
ed against COVID-19. ing information about what emption by the Victoria state
the rules are, others have government and Tennis Aus-
The top-ranked tennis star charged Djokovic has be- tralia, the tournament orga-
hit the show courts of Mel- come a convenient scapegoat nizer, from its vaccination
bourne Park, where the tour- for an Australian government rules to compete because he
nament is held, within hours facing criticism for its recent was infected with COVID-19
of winning a legal battle that handling of the pandemic. last month. That apparently
allowed him to stay in the allowed him to receive a visa
country. The nine-time Australian to travel. Hawke’s office issued a state- Djokovic touched down in
Open winner held a practice ment saying the matter was Melbourne just before mid-
At issue is whether he has a Tuesday afternoon at Rod La- But federal border authorities still under consideration. night Wednesday, answering
valid exemption to rules re- ver Arena. Soon after, tour- stopped him on arrival last “no” to the question about
quiring vaccination to enter nament organizers made him week and canceled his visa. Australian Prime Minister previous travel on his Austra-
Australia since he recently the top-seeded player in the Lawyers for the government Scott Morrison’s conserva- lian Travel Declaration form.
recovered from COVID-19. men’s singles draw. have said an infection in the tive government has blamed
A judge ruled Monday he previous six months was only the debacle on Tennis Aus- But he was filmed playing
could stay, but the immigra- The athlete was seen hitting grounds for an exemption in tralia, which ministers accuse tennis in the streets of the
tion minister could still send shots from behind the base- cases in which the coronavi- of misleading players about Serbian capital, Belgrade, on
him home. line, taking feedback from his rus caused severe illness. vaccine requirements. But Dec. 25, and later training in
coach, and stretching beside newspapers have reported Spain — all within the 14-day
There were also new ques- the court with a trainer. He It’s not clear why Djokovic that the sporting body had window. He traveled to Aus-
tions raised Tuesday over an spent four nights confined was ever granted a visa if pleaded with the Department tralia from Marbella, Spain.
immigration form, on which to an immigration hotel and that’s the case. of Home Affairs to check the
he said he had not traveled in now is getting back into the visa paperwork of Djokovic Djokovic told border of-
the 14 days before his flight swing less than a week before A federal judge reinstated and other players before their ficers that Tennis Australia
to Australia. The Monte Car- the Grand Slam tournament Djokovic’s visa Monday on flights. completed the declaration
lo-based athlete was seen in starts. procedural grounds, say- for him, but the officer who
Spain and Serbia in that two- ing he hadn’t been allowed A new potential stumbling canceled his visa said that the
week period. “Despite all that has hap- enough time to speak to his block also emerged Tuesday body would have done that
pened, I want to stay and try lawyers to contest the deci- after documents released by based on information from
The back and forth over to compete @AustralianO- sion. But Immigration Min- the Federal Circuit Court re- Djokovic himself.
whether Djokovic complied pen. I remain focused on ister Alex Hawke is still con- vealed Djokovic told authori-
with Australia’s rules has that,” Djokovic tweeted in sidering using his power to ties he had not traveled in the It was not clear if the docu-
caused a furor in the country the early hours of Tuesday. “I deport the 34-year-old Serbi- 14 days before his flight to ment came up during Mon-
and beyond. When the vocal flew here to play at one of the an under separate legislation. Australia. day’s hearing.

Georgia snaps 41-year title drought with 33-18 win over Bama

(AP) — Confetti rained rybook career and Georgia’s program under Smart, but voy of blockers and went 79 26 for 224 yards and no inter-
down on Georgia. The defense sealed the sweetest has not been able to chase yards, Smart chasing and ceptions.
Bulldogs fans chanted victory in program history, down its Southeastern Con- yelling at him to go down so
“Kir-by, Kir-by!” beating Alabama 33-18 in the ference rival. he wouldn’t risk a fumble. For most of the first three
College Football Playoff for The touchdown set off a wild quarters, the first CFP title
Four decades of pent-up its first title in 41 years. And they did it the way Ala- celebration by the relieved game to be a rematch of a
emotion were unleashed bama has broken their hearts Georgia fans who packed Lu- regular-season game was an
Monday night as the Bull- Smart, a Bulldogs defensive so many times in recent cas Oil Stadium. ol’ fashion SEC defensive
dogs snapped a frustrat- back in the mid-1990s, re- years: Coming from behind struggle in the heart of Big
ing national championship turned to his alma mater in and finishing with a flourish. The Bulldogs (14-1) hadn’t Ten country.
drought by vanquishing their 2016 after helping Nick Sa- won a national title since
nemesis. ban build a dynasty as an as- Bennett connected with freshman Herschel Walker The first touchdown came
sistant at Alabama. Adonai Mitchell on a 40- led them there in 1980. If with 1:20 left in the third
Stetson Bennett delivered yard touchdown to give No. simply snapping the drought quarter. After James Cook
the biggest throws of his sto- Georgia has become an elite 3 Georgia a 19-18 lead with wasn’t good enough, doing it broke a 67-yard run to get the
8:09 left and then hooked up against No. 1 Alabama (13-2) Bulldogs into the red zone,
with Brock Bowers for a 15- made it even better. three more running plays —
yard TD on a screen to put and a facemask penalty by
the Bulldogs up eight with Saban’s Tide had won seven Alabama — got them into the
3:33 left. straight against the Bulldogs. end zone. Zamir White went
The Bulldogs lost two SEC in standing up from a yard
The final blow came from championship games, in- out with massive defensive
Georgia’s dominant defense. cluding one five weeks ago, tackles Jalen Carter and Da-
Kelee Ringo intercepted an and the 2018 CFP title game vis leading the way as block-
underthrown deep ball down to Alabama under Smart. ers. The Bulldogs led for the
the sideline by Heisman Tro- first time, 13-9.
phy winner Bryce Young. Mission accomplished.
After Alabama added another
With just over a minute left, Bennett, the former walk-on field goal, the Tide caught a
Ringo took off behind a con- turned starter, finished 17 for break on strange turnover.