WHICH battle would be foremost in Novak Djokovic’s mind right now: (1) the one in a tennis court, (2) in a court of law, (3) in a movie in his mind?
Easy to pick. Of course, No. 1, right?
Why, because Djokovic is the world’s No. 1 tennis player at the moment. He breathes tennis every single day. He owns a record 20 Grand Slam titles in a tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most number of majors won. He is the defending champion in the Australian Open.
Oh, the Aussie Open. It kicks off only five days from now on January 17 in Melbourne.
So close, yes, but where is Djokovic right now?
He has just stepped out of a battle in a court of law in Melbourne a big winner, proudly getting his visa restored in his passport—thanks to judge Anthony Kelly.
Kelly’s maverick-driven verdict has put to shame his own government’s globally famous stand to bar unvaccinated visitors entry into Australia due to long lockdowns caused by the pandemic.
Djokovic, from Serbia, has long been a vocal foe of vaccination.
Is Kelly a Djokovic fan or simply an avid tennis buff?
Or maybe an anti-vaxxer himself?
Whatever, Kelly has pushed his own government’s back against the wall.
Here is a case of a court toppling his government’s stand on just not a national issue but an international one at that—the vaccination platform being still a hot topic amid the pandemic.
Djokovic has won the first set but can he proceed to wrap up the match?
The middle sets can be much tougher, you know.
And should a deciding fifth set ensue, it will require steely nerves, endless stamina and a monumentally monstrous mind to pull it out of the fire.
The courtroom bans cheering and clapping but not in the tennis courts, where even primal screams can never be restrained. The crowd can be that hostile as to derail outright a player’s focus.
The court trial is not like the movie in your mind when deep in combat in the actual tennis court. There is no judge to lean on but only yourself.
THAT’S IT The good news is, EJ Obiena, the world-class Filipino pole vaulter, has now agreed to enter the mediation process brokered by the Philippine Sports Commission, hopefully ending the long-playing rift between the ace vaulter and his mother federation. The sad news is, Obiena is set to undergo a meniscal tear surgery on his knee that will, it is highly hoped, help pave the way for his joining a world category event by the end of January. Let us pray that Obiena will surpass both trials and next, nudges us to heave a collective sigh of relief while we say, “All’s well that ends well.”