Few public figures are liked less than politicians, though the best men's tennis player on earth may be one of them.

And, true to form, Australia's elected representatives are relishing the chance to punch down on the world number one.

On Tuesday night, Novak Djokovic posted on social media he'd been given an exemption permission — whatever that meant — to compete at the Australian Open later this month.

Many vented their anger at what was described as special treatment. But it looked, at that stage, like the world number one strutting around Melbourne Park was a foregone conclusion.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison washed his hands of the issue yesterday, saying at a morning doorstop that it was a matter for the Victorian government.

Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley popped up smiling at a press conference alongside acting Victorian sport minister Jaala Pulford acknowledging the community's frustration, but defending the process behind the exemption.

Indeed, Pulford even lightheartedly backed Rafael Nadal to beat Djokovic to the title. After months of will-he-or-won't-he-speculation, tennis threatened to finally take over.

But public outrage at the exemption — validated, for many, by onerous COVID-19 restrictions and frustrations at Australian governments' handling of the pandemic — continued to simmer.

The political mood flipped in the afternoon, when Home Affairs minister Karen Andrews issued a Peter Dutton-esque statement.

"Australia's border rules apply to everyone," it barked.

Inside the federal government — mere months before the election — something had changed.

"If an arriving individual is not vaccinated, they must provide acceptable proof that they cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons to be able to access the same travel arrangement as fully vaccinated travellers," the statement read.

That phrase, "acceptable proof", was repeated by Scott Morrison at a 5.10pm press conference when asked about Djokovic.

"So we await his presentation and what evidence he provides to support that," he said.

Later that night, and moments before Djokovic landed in Melbourne, Pulford took to Twitter to attempt to get ahead of an issue spiralling out of her control.

She said the Victorian government had been approached by the federal government to "support" Djokovic's visa application, but that no support would be given.

"We've always been clear on two points: visa approvals are a matter for the federal government, and medical exemptions are a matter for doctors."

A day that began with her joking with journalists about Rafa versus Novak, ended with her dumping Djokovic in the hands of Border Force.

Scott Morrison made it clear who was in charge now, declaring in a press conference today that "rules are rules" and that "the evidence for medical exemption that was provided was found to be insufficient".

The Prime Minister praised the work of the border officials and even made mention of the fact that it was he who had established the Border Force.

Pandemic politics

Both the Victorian and federal governments will ultimately be praised — and criticised — for decisions they have taken during the pandemic.

What will be remembered less favourably is their tendency to seek political gain as Australians feel the impact of their decisions.

The division of powers in the Federation has generally left health to the states and immigration to the feds. But the pandemic has shown in contemporary Australia these divisions are mostly a hindrance.

Australians have suffered as a result. From the vaccination rollout, to quarantine disagreement, contradictory lockdowns and testing capacity, each pandemic challenge would have benefited from better co-operation between states and the federal government. Yet at every stage politicians have been keen to shift blame around.

Now a 34-year-old Serbian man is also paying the price.

Novak Djokovic has now spent the best part of a day in immigration limbo, his visa application having been knocked back and now the Prime Minister declaring he must be deported.

Djokovic is not popular, sure, but it's unsettling watching someone be given the promise of entry to the country, make the trip out, then be denied at the border.

If the information provided to the Victorian medical experts was good enough for an "exemption permission", why was it not good enough for Border Force?

Why bother having a Victorian process at all if only the opinion of federal border officials mattered?

And why did it take Djokovic travelling halfway around the world to actually identify a problem, when a phone call between Melbourne and Canberra could have settled the issue from the start?

International sport keeps Australia in the loop

Ultimately, as Australia loses touch with the rest of the world through geographic isolation emphasised by border closures, international sport is one of our binding ties.

As good as the weather, the beaches, and the people are Down Under, the cost and time spent travelling to Australia, for cricket tours, Formula 1 races, tennis tournaments and more, may one day become just too much.

And beyond sport, Australia can't ignore the fact it's an isolated island needing the world more than the world needs Australia.

For that reason it makes sense to treat those who seek to come with encouragement, and respect.

Whatever his views on vaccination, Novak Djokovic's status as a hostage in the latest petty domestic political tit-for-tat is not respectful.

The saga has drawn global interest, and confusion, and once again has people asking: "What is going on down there?"

Amid the frenzy, it's been easy to ignore Tennys Sandgren.

The 30-year-old American chose not to compete in Melbourne this year because he didn't meet the requirements of the Australian Open vaccination mandate.

It's no surprise he has come out this morning in support of Djokovic, saying Australia doesn't deserve to host a tennis grand slam.

But the latest desperate manoeuvrings from Australian politicians that have come at a cost to an individual — even if that individual is Novak Djokovic — suggest he's got a point.