The Australia v. Djokovic saga has dominated new cycles for the past week in and outside of the tennis world; it highlighted many of the anxieties and political squabbles of the COVID-19 pandemic, spurred infighting between various levels of Australian government, and most importantly, was completely avoidable. There is plenty of blame to go around here: to Djokovic, to his family’s increasingly bizarre statements, to the Prime Minister's cynical political maneuvers, and to the head of Tennis Australia, who committed an astonishing number of unforced errors. We give you a timeline and the cast of characters as we attempt to contextualize this debacle as best we can.
00:30 Setting the scene, and why we don’t do emergency episodes
12:40 Jan 4-6: Today I’m heading Down Under with an exemption per-.... oop
22:30 Jan 8: The zero-sum game resulting from the positive PCR test
29:30 Jan 10: The hearing none of us understood
37:05 The dramatis personae: starting with Craig Tiley and Tennis Australia
40:20 The Victoria Government (and why state governments shouldn’t get immigration advice from a sporting organization)
45:00 Prime Minister Scott Morrison scoring political points, or; “rules are rules”
49:25 Learning about Australia’s refugee crisis and draconian immigration policies
58:00 Hubris, extremism, and strange bedfellows
Doing The Best I Can With What I GOT
Whatever Happens
Charleston Renaiissance
Miami Requiiem
The Bees Are Back In Town
Contaminated With Questions
You Cannot Be Serious
Pills and Potions
RIP OHB
Fuming: February Mailbag
Dreaming More Than Ever: AusOpen Wrap
Swallowed Whole: Australian Open Week One
In The Blinkova(n) Eye
Payola: 2024 Australian Open Preview
Comeback Kids
What Off-Season? Tennis and Pop Culture Mailbag
The Streak Breaker: Hana Mandlíková
Misery Business: 2023 ATP Wrap
Let Them Eat Cake: 2023 WTA Wrap
Novak and the Seven Jokers
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