Tennis star Novak Djokovic has finally left Australia after being deported for refusing to have a Covid vaccination.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner, 34, was ordered to leave the country after the government cancelled his visa on public health grounds.
Djokovic fought the decision in court, but a judge ruled in favour of the government.
The Serb was seen at Melbourne Airport just moments ago, as he prepared to say goodbye to his dream of winning a record 21st Grand Slam title.
Djokovic was preparing to play in the Australian Open as the No1 seed and favourite to win a record 10th title at the prestigious tournament.
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"I will now be taking some time to rest and to recuperate, before making any further comments beyond this," he said in response to the decision.
"I am extremely disappointed with the ruling to dismiss my application for judicial review of the decision to cancel my visa, which means I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open.
"I respect the court's ruling and I'll cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from Australia.
"I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love.
"I would like to wish the players, tournament officials, staff, volunteers and fans all the best for the tournament.
"Finally, I would like to thank my family, friends, team, supporters, fans and my fellow Serbians for your continued support. You have all been a great source of strength to me."
Alex Hawke MP - Australia's minister for immigration, citizenship, migrant services and multicultural affairs - confirmed Djokovic's departure on Sunday morning (UK time).
"I welcome today’s unanimous decision by the Full Federal Court of Australia, upholding my decision to exercise my power under the Migration Act to cancel Mr Novak Djokovic’s visa in the public interest," tweeted Hawke.
"I can confirm that Mr Djokovic has now departed Australia."
Australia require all foreign visitors to be vaccinated against Covid before entering the country, unless exempt.
Djokovic, who is yet to get his first vaccine, believed he was exempt after contracting the virus last month and therefore had some immunity towards it.
The government, however, maintained that he was a health risk and shouldn't be treated any differently to other foreign visitors.
"Honestly I'm a little bit tired of the situation because I just believe that it's important to talk about our sport, about tennis," said tennis icon Rafael Nadal when asked for his opinion.
"I tell you one thing, it's very clear that Novak Djokovic is one of the best players in history, without a doubt.
"But there is no one player in history that's more important than an event, no? Players come and then go, and other players are coming.
"No one, even Roger, Novak, myself, Bjorn Borg who was amazing at his times, tennis will keep going. The Australian Open is much more important than any player.
"If he's playing finally, okay. If he's not playing, the Australian Open will be a great Australian Open with or without him. That's my point of view."
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) 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."
