Australia needs him more than he needs Australia. When you refuse to let the world’s #1 tennis player compete in your tournament then by definition your tournament isn’t a championship tournament. He certainly doesn’t need the money and the Australian Open will lose it’s prestige after this political stunt. He flew down there with the understanding that his pre-arranged visa would be honored. The Australians did not act in good faith so screw ‘em.
Yeah. Nah. Americans seem to have this warped idea that the Australian Open is really really important to Australia but it isn't. Yeah, it a big sporting event, and it has some tourist value, but it's of miniscule importance compared to thinks like our border security.
He flew down there with the understanding that his pre-arranged visa would be honored.
Not really. He either misunderstood the entry requirements (and to be fair, it looks like Tennis Australia may have given him misleading information) or he deliberately tried to bluff his way past Australian border law. Whichever is true, he only ever had a conditional Visa and it was conditional on him provided a valid exemption on arrival. He didn't have a valid exemption.
The Australians did not act in good faith so screw ‘em.
He also lied on his entry form. So arguing that the Australian government didn't act in good faith, but simply following Australian law as written seems odd to me.
It needed to be said again. naturalman1975, Australia has gone off the rails and its governments think it is their full time job to punish and harass its citizens. This is not going to end well no matter how much you bleat otherwise. It's going to get ugly.
Meh...the Autralain Open will get along just fine without one elite player. Sends a strong message to the rest of the globe trotting super-spreaders, that their antics won't be tolerated.