As per the Australian Open director Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia won't officially help Novak Djokovic's lobbying efforts should he attempt to enter the country for the first major of 2023, a year after he was expelled for failing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination."It's not a matter we can lobby on. Novak and the federal government need to work out the situation and then we'll follow any instruction after that. It's a matter that definitely stays between the two of them and then depending on the outcome of that we would welcome him to the Australian Open," Tiley said, according to Reuters.The Tennis Podcast@TennisPodcastAn update from Craig Tiley on the Novak Djokovic situation at the Australian Open. “It’s not a matter we can lobby on. Novak and the federal government need to work out the situation and then we'll follow any instruction after that.”bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/6…558An update from Craig Tiley on the Novak Djokovic situation at the Australian Open. “It’s not a matter we can lobby on. Novak and the federal government need to work out the situation and then we'll follow any instruction after that.”bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/6…Ben Rothenberg, a well-known journalist, weighed in on the matter in light of this, criticizing Tennis Australia for "misreading the law, the politics, and the public sentiment.""A useful reminder that the whole detainment/deportation fiasco was really caused by Tennis Australia’s half-cocked exemption program, in which Tennis Australia misread the law, the politics, and the public sentiment. At least TA isn’t going to try to sway government this time," Rothenberg tweeted.Ben Rothenberg@BenRothenbergA useful reminder that the whole detainment/deportation fiasco was really caused by Tennis Australia’s half-cocked exemption program, in which Tennis Australia misread the law, the politics, and the public sentiment.At least TA isn’t going to try to sway government this time. twitter.com/russellcfuller…Russell Fuller@russellcfuller“It’s not a matter we can lobby on,” Craig Tiley says of Novak Djokovic’s hope that his visa ban will be overturned by the government. There’s been an election since January, and it’s already getting political bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/6…14013“It’s not a matter we can lobby on,” Craig Tiley says of Novak Djokovic’s hope that his visa ban will be overturned by the government. There’s been an election since January, and it’s already getting political ⬇️ bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/6…A useful reminder that the whole detainment/deportation fiasco was really caused by Tennis Australia’s half-cocked exemption program, in which Tennis Australia misread the law, the politics, and the public sentiment.At least TA isn’t going to try to sway government this time. twitter.com/russellcfuller…Additionally, Rothenberg rejected a fan's assertion that Djokovic would have been allowed to compete at the Australian Open this year if he was an unknown player ranked 80th in the world."No, if Djokovic was ranked like that he probably would have done what ~100th-ranked Tennys Sandgren actually did for this year's Australian Open: look at the exemption criteria, realize he didn't meet it, and stay unvaccinatedly at home," Rothenberg said.Ben Rothenberg@BenRothenbergNo, if Djokovic was ranked like that he probably would have done what ~100th-ranked Tennys Sandgren actually did for this year's Australian Open: look at the exemption criteria, realize he didn't meet it, and stay unvaccinatedly at home.twitter.com/SerbsInSports/…THE JOKER(S) 🃏🇷🇸@SerbsInSports@BenRothenberg A useful reminder that if Novak Djokovic was unknown 80th player in the rankings he would play in the Australia1768@BenRothenberg A useful reminder that if Novak Djokovic was unknown 80th player in the rankings he would play in the AustraliaNo, if Djokovic was ranked like that he probably would have done what ~100th-ranked Tennys Sandgren actually did for this year's Australian Open: look at the exemption criteria, realize he didn't meet it, and stay unvaccinatedly at home.twitter.com/SerbsInSports/…"The rivalry is very special; we are not giving up that easy, Nadal and myself" - Novak Djokovic2021 French Open - Day ThirteenIn a press conference before the start of the Tel Aviv Open, which he later won, Novak Djokovic discussed Rafael Nadal in detail and claimed that the Spaniard is his biggest rival."Everyone is my rival. Whoever I step out on court against is my rival and I want to win against him. When it comes to who is my biggest rival, it is Nadal, without a doubt. He's still there," Djokovic said. The former world No. 1 also stated that they have played each other the most out of any other tennis rivalries and expressed the hope that they will have the opportunity to do so again in the future."We played the most matches against each other of any other rivalry in the history of tennis. So the rivalry is very special and it keeps going. Hopefully, we get a chance to play against each other more times, because I think it's exciting for us but also the tennis fans and sport fans around the world," he said.