Novak Djokovic Gets Hero’s Welcome in Serbia After Expulsion From Australiahttps://www.wsj.com/articles/novak-d...ia-11642427637

Novak Djokovic, the tennis champion who was deported from Australia over his Covid-19 vaccination status, landed to a hero’s welcomein his native Serbia on Monday, where supporters range from the staunchly pro-vaccination government to antivaccination activists.

After landing in Belgrade around midday, Djokovic was welcomed by a crowd of supporters wrapped in Serbian flags. The tallest skyscraper in the Balkan nation was lit up with a giant message declaring him “the pride of Serbia” against a backdrop of the national flag.

Djokovic left Australia after the country’s highest court upheld a ministerial decree to expel him because the player, who isn’t vaccinated against Covid-19, had become a “talisman of antivaccination sentiment” and could trigger “civil unrest.” The decision deprived Djokovic of the opportunity to defend his title at the Australian Open tournament, which he has claimed nine times.

In Serbia, a small nation in southeastern Europe, the saga has prompted popular outrage.President Aleksandar Vucic said he had called the athlete, who traveled on a diplomatic passport, immediately after the court ruling on Sundayto offer him support and invite him home. A spokesman for Serbia’s government said Djokovic was awarded a diplomatic passport in 2011, following his country’s victory at the Davis Cup in tennis.

Following reports that Djokovic would fly to one of his frequently used domiciles in Monaco and Spain, Mr. Vucic told reporters that he had pleaded with him to travel to Serbia. Mr. Vucic called Djokovic’s expulsion a witch huntorchestrated by Australia’s ruling party ahead of elections.

Serbia’s president said Australian athletes would remain welcome at Serbian competitions, including in tennis.“We are better than the government of Australia,”he said.

The government’s support for Djokovic came despite the fact that Serbia has aggressively promoted vaccinations in the face of widespread antivaccine sentiment in the country. Serbia was the first country globally to offer what it called a vaccination buffet to its citizens, allowing everyone to freely choose from shots produced by Western, Chinese and Russian vaccine makers.

Yet Serbians have been reluctant to take the shot. Serbia’s vaccination rate is stuck below 50%, according to Our World in Data, an Oxford University project. Mr. Vucic has said population figures haven’t been recently updated and that the actual vaccination rate is in fact over 50%.

“Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,”he said during a 2020 live event on ********, according to the news agency Reuters. Later, he said that he kept an open mind about vaccination.

Serbians who failed to isolate after testing positive for Covid-19 have been recently sentenced to up to three years in jail.A government spokesman said Djokovic was unlikely to be prosecuted because the country was no longer in a state of pandemic emergency.

Off the court, Djokovic is well known for his philanthropy and has channeled millions of dollars into charitable causes such as children’s education, in part through his own foundation. He was named an ambassador by Unicef, and he donated funds to Serbia’s healthcare authorities during the pandemic.

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