Britain’s two most celebrated contemporary champions, Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu, have both denounced how the saga has detracted from tennis, a sentiment echoed by Patrick Mouratoglou, who is Serena Williams’s coach. “The big loser of this mess is the tournament,” he said. “The only good news is that we will hopefully start talking about tennis.”

Greg Rusedski, who reached the final of the US Open in 1997, questioned why the organisers had not just simplified the criteria to clearly state no medical exemptions from a requirement that all participants must be vaccinated from Covid-19.

The ATP, which is the governing body for men’s professional tennis, said that the cancellation of Djokovic’s visa had represented “the end of a deeply regrettable series of events”. The statement added: “Irrespective of how this point has been reached, Novak is one of our sport’s greatest champions and his absence from the Australian Open is a loss for the game. We know how turbulent the recent days have been for Novak and how much he wanted to defend his title in Melbourne. We wish him well and look forward to seeing him back on court soon.”

The ATP also did stress that they “strongly recommend vaccination to all players”. More than 95 per cent of leading tennis players are fully vaccinated, a statistic that contrasts sharply with English professional footballers, where the EFL recently revealed that one in four players have been refusing the jab.

There was support also for Djokovic from other sports, including Luka Milivojevic, Crystal Palace’s Serbian midfielder. He posted a list of charitable acts by Djokovic acts, asserting that “this is real Novak Djokovic”.

Tennis Australia braces for Australian Open protests over Djokovic saga

Tennis Australia is ready to ramp up security for the Australian Open ahead of expected protests over the dramatic deportation of nine-time champion Novak Djokovic. 

After a week in which police clashed with protesters on the streets of Melbourne, anti-vaccine campaigners gathered outside Djokovic’s hotel, and hundreds of people descended on Melbourne Park with the message “Free Victoria, Release Novak”, analysts were predicting further “febrile” scenes. 

There could be protests from the strong local Serbian community, or from anti-vaxxers, who waved banners outside the Melbourne Park gates on Saturday. 

The Australian government cancelled Djokovic’s visa on the grounds of “health and good order”, prompting the counter-argument from Djokovic’s team that ejecting the 20-time grand slam champion could have precisely the opposite impact. 

A spokesperson for Tennis Australia told Telegraph Sport that security measures would be adjusted constantly to deal with the situation on the ground. 

“The safety and security of all our patrons, staff and players is paramount and our highest priority,” said the spokesperson. 

Djokovic’s ejection from Australia, his admission in court documents that he has not had the Covid-19 vaccination and the revelation that he broke isolation rules in Serbia, have also raised questions over his future schedule and sponsorship deals which are estimated at almost £22 million.

Raiffeisen Bank International, said it was “closely observing the current situation” after agreeing a multi-year deal with the 34-year-old last April. It was pointed out that the agreement, which has seen Djokovic become a brand ambassador, “was made long before the current reporting on Novak Djokovic and his Covid-19 vaccination status, or his participation in the Australian Open” but that his sporting success and social commitment has made him hugely popular in Central and Easter Europe. 

Hublot, Peugeot, Lacoste and Asics are among Djokovic’s other main sponsors. Peugeot said it had “no comment” when contacted, while Hublot said last week that it would stick by the tennis star, who “is his own person”.