Novak Djokovic is facing deportation from Australia after his visa was cancelled for a second time on Friday. The world number one had been included in the draw for the Australian Open on Thursday, and looked set to defend his title as the tournament gets underway next week. However a decision to revoke the Serbian's visa again was finally made by Australian immigration minister Alex Hawke, after he exercised a personal power to do so. On Wednesday Djokovic had blamed his agent for an error in his paperwork on arrival in Melbourne on January 5th, and admitted to not isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 last December. Barring a late and improbable challenge he is now set to be deported from Australia, meaning he won't be adding to his nine Melbourne Grand Slams. You can follow all of the latest on Djokovic throughout the day via the Irish Times sports site.
In her column this morning Lisa Fallon has reflected on the horrific murder of Ashling Murphy, who was killed while out for a run along 'Fiona's Way' in Tullamore on Wednesday, at 4pm in the afternoon. She writes: "And lads, this is not a woman's problem. The problem is with men. And there are three types. Men and boys who believe they are superior, and entitled to behave in ways that threaten, abuse and scare women. Then there are men and boys who don't behave this way but say and do nothing. Who witness abuse but let it go. Lastly, there are a minuscule few who stand up and say 'no, this is not right'."
It was all square at Anfield last night as Liverpool and Arsenal played out a 0-0 stalemate in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final. This is despite Mikel Arteta's side having to play most of the match with 10-men, following a predictably dull red card shown to Granit Xhaka after 24 minutes. Chelsea await the winners of next week's second leg at Wembley. There is one Premier League fixture tonight, with Brighton and Crystal Palace renewing their rivalry on the south coast (kick-off 8pm).
Elsewhere in his column this morning Johnny Watterson has paid tribute to Andrew Jennings, "one of the last Big Game hunters of investigative sports journalism," who died last Saturday aged 78. "The basis for Jennings' abrasive and fearless persona was that he uncovered paper trails to back up his allegations. His confidence and willingness to meet powerful sports corporations head on came from leg work and nit picking through documents. He liked the stage too."
Séamus Power has made a strong start in Hawaii - his opening round of 63 leaves him two strokes behind leader Kevin Na in the Sony Open.
And Ireland have levelled their ODI series with the West Indies at 1-1 after a rain-affected five wicket win at Sabina Park last night. In Australia, the hosts are currently 130-4 in Hobart after being invited to bat by England in the fifth and final Ashes Test.
