Best reactions and memes to Novak Djokovic's visa fiasco in Australia
Social media has been buzzing ever since Novak Djokovic was granted a medical exemption to play at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The outrage that followed the announcement has since turned to mockery and merrymaking, now that Australia has canceled the World No. 1's visa.
Users took to Twitter to share their thoughts in a number of creative ways.
Australian comedian and singer-songwriter Tom Cardy wrote a song titled "Australian love letter to Novak Djokovic," about how officials were being sarcastic about the Serb's medical exemption. Cardy also referred to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, saying Australia has "bigger things going on now."
"Austrlian love letter to Novak Djokovic," Cardy wrote.
Australian love letter to Novak Djokovic https://t.co/odQJN9dMNN
Another user posted a morphed photo of Roger Federer's face on top of that of an immigration authority official, joking that the Swiss was behind the move.
"Live scenes at Melbourne Airport Border Control.. #Federer #Djokovic #AustralianOpen," the user tweeted.
Live scenes at Melbourne Airport Border Control..
#Federer #Djokovic #AustralianOpen https://t.co/KD9SLP1X16
Yet another meme involving Federer showed a clip from an interview the former World No. 1 did with Rafael Nadal many years ago.
The duo, laughing their hearts out at something else, were made to look as if they were reacting to the Novak Djokovic fiasco.
"He flew all that way and they are sending him straight back home." #DjokovicOut #AustralianOpen2022," a user tweeted.
"He flew all that way and they are sending him straight back home." #DjokovicOut #AustralianOpen2022 https://t.co/PRBF1FVPKf
Airline company Ryanair joined in the fun too by asking the Serb if he wanted to book his flight back home. On their official Twitter handle, a photo was posted of the Hawkeye technology used in tennis, with the official review showing that the ball landed outside the sidelines in the territory marked "Not Australia."
"Unlucky @DjokerNole. Flight home?" Ryanair tweeted.
Unlucky @DjokerNole Flight home? https://t.co/D8mpNq4jEB
One of the most popular memes was Novak Djokovic reimagined in the movie, The Terminal. The film, where Tom Hanks plays a character who is stuck in an airport for a long time due to a problem with his visa, is a good encapsulation of Djokovic's unfortunate situation.
"Brilliant #Djokovic," one user tweeted.
Brilliant #Djokovic https://t.co/lSZK0z4OhN
UK spoof website NewsThump made fun of the whole scandal, releasing an article about a hitherto-unknown tennis player from France named "Novacques Chochovice".
It claimed that Novacques had been handed a wildcard to compete at the Australian Open with a photo depicting Djokovic with a beret and mustache tacked on.
"NEWS! Fully-vaccinated French newcomer Novacques Chocoviche given wild-card entry to Australian Open," NewsThump tweeted.
NEWS! Fully-vaccinated French newcomer Novacques Chocoviche given wild-card entry to Australian Open bit.ly/3q0i8NC https://t.co/Wd9IW7cfGC
Users flooded Twitter with memes in favor of Novak Djokovic as well
Not everyone was against Novak Djokovic on social media, however. The Serb's fans took to Twitter to show their support for Djokovic with their own set of memes.
The most creative one involved Djokovic deep-faked onto an action scene at an airport, where he can be seen taking down armed soldiers with ease.
"Djokovic at Melbourne airport," the video was captioned.
๐๐๐ @DjokerNole https://t.co/nI3oeIAQJm
The tweet received more than 8,000 likes and was retweeted more than 1500 times by fans of the World No. 1, who feel he has been treated unfairly by Australian authorities.