LOOK! From Australia visa cancellation to hitting line judge in throat - 10 Novak Djokovic controversial moments

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Australia cancels his visa: Controversy seems to follow world number one tennis star Novak Djokovic. The 20-time Grand Slam champion is often making the headlines for the wrong reasons. He currently faces deportation after Australia cancelled his visa for a second time. The decision by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke means the 34-year-old also faces a three-year ban on obtaining a new Australian visa. The unvaccinated for COVID-19 Serbian ace may launch another legal challenge to remain in the country for the Australian Open which starts on Monday 17th January. But this isn’t the first time he has been in the middle of a raging debate… Image Credit: AFP

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Loses cool at umpire during Italian Open 2021: During his second-round match against Taylor Fritz at Italian Open 2021 at the Foro Italico sports complex in Rome - a historic venue that does not have a retractable roof - the world number one was furious with the chair umpire for not stopping play as rain trickled down. The umpire did not stop the match, despite Djokovic repeatedly asking him to do so. The Serbian ace then lost his temper and yelled, “How much do you wanna play? I asked you three times, you are not checking anything.” It was only then that umpire decided to do halt proceedings. Image Credit: AFP

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Olympic dream ends in frustration: He was on course to achieve a Golden Calendar Slam last year, but lost to Alexander Zverev in the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics. And then, in the bronze medal playoff against Pablo Carreno Busta, the Serbian’s temper got the better of him as he angrily tossed his racket into the empty stands and smashed another one as the Spaniard triumphed. Image Credit: AP

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More smashed racquets: At last year’s US Open final, he fell short of completing a calendar year Grand Slam as he was beaten by Daniil Medvedev. During the match he let his frustrations spill out when he angrily smashed his racquet after failing to win a point. He got so angry that he kept slamming it on the court until it was completely broken. Image Credit: Reuters

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Nearly hits ball boy at 2021 US Open: After hitting a shot into the net, he reacted angrily and as the ball bounced back towards him he reeled back in anger and thought about whacking it away just as a ball boy had come to retrieve it. The youngster recoiled in fear and tried to duck as Djokovic looked set to unleash and would have been directly hit. Luckily, the Serb decided against it and thankfully disaster was avoided. Image Credit: AFP

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2020 Adria Tour aka ‘Grand Slam of Covid’: He decided to help organise and take part in the Adria Tour in the Balkans. The competition was later dubbed the ‘Grand Slam of Covid’ after images emerged of crowds not socially distanced and very few other apparent safety measures in place. In the end the tour was abandoned, as Djokovic, his wife and several others all tested positive for the virus. He later apologised and said he was wrong to put on the tournament. Image Credit: AFP

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Injures line judge at 2020 US Open: He was booted out of the final Grand Slam of the year when he injured a line judge during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta after reacting angrily to losing his serve. He smashed a ball in frustration and unfortunately it ended up hitting the woman in the throat who fell to floor gasping for air. Djokovic rushed over to her aid and although it had clearly been an accident, officials soon announced he had been disqualified. Image Credit: Reuters

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Throwing racquet into crowd: During the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters he was seen smashing a racquet to pieces by repeatedly hitting it into the floor. If that wasn’t bad enough he then threw another racquet at the ball which ended up sailing over the advertising hoardings and into the stands. It only just missed hitting the spectators. Image Credit: AFP

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Exaggerating injuries in matches: He has often faced accusations for exaggerating injuries during matches, for instance during the 2008 US Open, he took two medical timeouts before a five-set win over Tommy Robredo. His quarter-final opponent Andy Roddick mocked the star and said his injuries included “two hurt ankles, bird flu and SARS!” During the 2020 French Open quarter-final where he beat Spaniard Carreno Busta but needed his trainer to tend to an injury, his vanquished opponent said “Every time a match gets complicated he asks for medical assistance.” At the 2021 Australian Open, Djokovic said he was suffering from a stomach injury but still beat American player Taylor Fritz. “If he was really, really injured, he wouldn't have kept playing,” said Fritz. Image Credit: AFP

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Views on vaccines: This may be the most controversial issue of the lot seeing as it has now cost him the chance to compete at the Australian Open next week. The 34-year-old’s stance on vaccination for COVID-19 is well known – he has always been hesitant about them and had kept his vaccine status private - until very recently. His visa was first revoked shortly after his arrival in Melbourne on 6 January, after Australian border Force officials said he had “failed to provide appropriate evidence” to receive a vaccine exemption. It has since to come to light that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and failed to isolate and instead conducted an interview and photo shoot with a journalist. Image Credit: AFP

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