Novak Djokovic gallery at the Australian Open: A love story turned into a visa horror show

A pictorial of Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open through the years with his love affair starting in 2005 and continuing until 2021 when he won a ninth title.

The teen-aged Novak Djokovic got his first taste of Grand Slam main draw action at the 2005 Australian Open as he lost in the opening round.

After another first-round defeat in 2006, he got a win under his belt Down Under the following year before he was beaten in the fourth round.

The Serbian got beat some big names at the 2008 hard-court Grand Slam and he more than doubled his win tally at the Australian Open.

The deal was sealed with a kiss in 2008 as Djokovic won his maiden Australian Open title with victory over France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final at Rod Laver Arena.

After a couple of lean years, the impressive Djokovic danced his way to yet more title glory at the 2011 Australian Open.

After beating Roger Federer in the semi-final at Melbourne Park, Djokovic defeated Murray in three sets in the final to win a second Australian Open trophy.

The crowds at Melbourne Park enjoyed the bar-chested celebrations at the 2012 Australian Open.

The celebrations went on and on as Novak Djokovic marched to his third Australian Open title.

The 2012 final against Nadal was an epic as he came out on top after a five-set classic that lasted five hours and 53 minutes.

He was once again sliding his way to success at the 2013 Australian Open with the love story now in full flow.

There was no better love story doing the rounds in 2013 as Djokovic made another sweep to the Australian Open title.

No one could stop the Serbian master in 2015 as he had no problems reach the final, defeating Stan Wawrinka in the last four.

The Serbia loved life Down Under as he won a seventh title Grand Slam title, with five of them coming at Melbourne Park.

He reached for greater heights in 2016 as he reached a sixth final in Melbourne, courtesy a four-set defeat of Federer in the semi-final.

Five titles at Melbourne Park became six titles as Great Britain’s Murray was once again beaten in the final, this time he claimed a three-set win.

Following early defeats at the two previous campaigns, it was business again for Djokovic in 2019 as he steamrolled his way to the final.

Djokovic surpassed Pete Sampras as he won his 15th Grand Slam title and seventh in Australia with victory over Nadal.

He won a record-extending eighth Australian Open crown in 2020, but he had to work for it as he beat Thiem in five sets in the final at Rod Laver Arena.

There was no stopping Djokovic at the 2021 Australian Open as he dealt with everything thrown at him by reaching a ninth final.

A ninth final at Rod Laver Arena delivered a ninth Australian Open title as Medvedev had no answers to the questions posed by Djokovic.

His 2022 arrival did not go according to plan as he was held up at the border before being detained. After two court cases, he was finally deported and ended his hopes of winning a 10th Australian Open title and a 21st Grand Slam.

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