Novak Djokovic still has questions to answer about the well-timed bout of Covid-19 last month that allowed him to argue that he was exempt from Australian immigration rules that forbid non-vaccinated foreigners from visiting the country.
Whether he actually gets to play in the Australian Open, or win it, to become statistically the greatest player in the history of men's Grand Slam tennis, remains to be seen. But the scandal of the last fortnight is merely the latest chapter in the life of an ideological contrarian, unbothered by objective truth.
This is an unvaccinated man who, faced with criticism of why he would not get his jabs - presumably believing they might be harmful - organised a vaccination drive for others at the Serbian Open.
Novak Djokovic still has questions to answer about his vaccination status amid this Covid crisis
This is a self-declared humanitarian who last year was pictured socialising with Milan Jolovic, a former commander of the notorious Drina Wolves paramilitary unit, which participated in the genocide of Bosnians during the Bosnian War. Djokovic's PR team says Djokovic has no idea who Jolovic was.
This is an elite athlete who believes the molecular composition of water can be changed with positive thoughts. Presumably he believes that the 785 million people, who, according to the World Health Organisation, do not have access to clean water, just are not thinking hard enough.
This is a Serbian superstar who mingled indoors, unmasked, with multiple others, while carrying Covid. Even Serbia's Prime Minister, Ana Brnabic, one his staunchest supporters, on hearing he has admitted this, said there had been a 'clear violation' of Serbian Covid rules that must now be investigated.
But for all Djokovic's idiosyncrasies, we know that science, or at least his definition of it, has fundamentally changed the course of his career.
Djokovic faces a nervous wait to see whether he will defend his Australian Open title
This is a man whose dietary revolutions have underpinned 19 of his 20 Grand Slam singles titles to date.
In 2010, Djokovic was looking for ways to overcome the exhaustion he felt annually in the midday sun at the Australian Open. He solved these problems, he says, with the help of a specialist in alternate medicine, the Cypriot doctor Igor Cetojevic. By holding a piece of bread against Djokovic's stomach, Cetojevic was able to diagnose Djokovic's gluten intolerance that was causing his significant fatigue. Weight-loss and his now legendary fitness ensued.
Yet for men of lesser moral
