Leading news bulletins across the world over the last couple of days has been the farcical saga involving world number one men's tennis player Novak Djokovic and his ill-fated attempt to enter Australia for the Australian Open.

As many of you will have seen, the unvaccinated Serbian, who had been granted an exemption to Australia’s COVID-19 rules to play in the first Grand Slam of the season, was turned away by Border Force officials after his visa was dramatically revoked because of an issue with his application. He may yet be deported.

Djokovic and his legal team have appealed the decision, and the controversial 34-year-old is set to remain in an immigration detention centre in Australia until at least Monday (January 10) - a week before the start of the tournament.

Some might say he deserves it. After all, it is difficult to feel sympathy for a man who ignores medical advice and refuses to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

It is difficult to have sympathy for a man who organised a tournament during the height of a pandemic in 2020, which - unsurprisingly - was later decried as a "super-spreader" event.

Another view is that whatever you may think of Djokovic, perhaps one of the world’s least popular elite athletes, his treatment upon his arrival in Australia and after he was not allowed in by the Border Force was hardly fair.

Then again, it was his choice to travel, and it is also his prerogative to remain in Australia pending the outcome of his appeal.

Put simply, Djokovic knew the rules. He was fully aware that not being vaccinated may cause him a problem and prevent him from defending his Australian Open crown.

Organisers and Tennis Australia offered exemptions on medical grounds, with Djokovic among the "handful" of players to be granted one - a decision which sparked a furious backlash when it was first revealed.

Their applications were assessed by two independent panels of experts assembled by Tennis Australia and the Victoria Government.

Yet Tennis Australia has a horse in this race - it would clearly want the world’s best player and reigning champion to compete at its flagship event, so how can it be independent?

It is hard to escape the view that Djokovic was granted an exemption because of his status.

The benefits to broadcasters and the overall tournament itself are clear. An Australian Open without its star name is not as attractive.

According to reports, Djokovic is thought to have used a loophole which allowed those with a confirmed COVID-19 infection in the past six months to be given an exemption.

There has since been confusion over whether that was ever a regulation, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison publicly stating that was not a valid reason under federal rules.

The fact there were exemptions to start with has irked those in Australia who have been waiting months - years, in some cases - to see loved ones after the country implemented some of the strictest COVID-19 border controls in the world.

But, as journalist Osman Faruqi wrote in Melbourne-based newspaper The Age, there is a political undertone to this sorry mess, which comes at a time where the Australian Government has come under fire for an allegedly confusing approach to tackling the pandemic with a federal election fast approaching.

Faruqi noted Morrison initially said he would support the Victoria state's decision to grant Djokovic an exemption before significantly changing his tune yesterday after his visa application was rejected.

"Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders," Morrison said. "No one is above these rules."

Former Australian Open tournament director Paul McNamee told local media the visa U-turn was unprecedented, claiming it "smells" of politics.

Others including Rafael Nadal have weighed into the issue. The Spaniard, tied on 20 Grand Slam titles with Djokovic and Roger Federer, said he felt sympathy for the Serbian - not a lot, mind - but "if he wanted, he would be playing here in Australia without a problem".

"He made his own decisions, and everybody is free to take their own decisions, but then there are some consequences," Nadal said.

"Of course, I don’t like the situation that is happening.

"In some way I feel sorry for him.

"But at the same time, he knew the conditions a lot of months ago, so he makes his own decision."

Boiled down to its simplest, there was an easy way to avoid this - for Djokovic to have the vaccine.

For now, Djokovic is waiting for his day in court before he has any chance of getting onto a court that he knows better than most.