The Australian Government ultimately succeeded in their quest to have Novak Djokovic deported out of the country last month - but not without racking up extortionate costs in the process.
The saga completely overshadowed the build-up to the Australian Open, with Djokovic sparking a chaotic sequence of events after announcing he had been granted a medical exemption to compete in Melbourne Park.
That was despite him not falling inline with the mandate of being vaccinated against Covid-19, and upon his arrival down under, had his visa revoked before being detained by border force officials.
He duly won his appeal against being deported, only for the country's immigration minister, Alex Hawke, to cancel his visa a second time - and perception of the world no 1 was further plagued after it emerged he had flouted isolation rules in December, and also submitted false information on his immigration forms.
Still, Djokovic launched a second legal bid to remain in Australia, but this time a court ruling went against him and he flew back to Europe just a day before the Grand Slam tournament began.
However, a report on news.com.au has revealed the hefty sum that the 34-year-old's initial appeal success cost the Department of Home Affairs has now been revealed.
During a Senate estimates hearing on Monday night, Australia’s legal costs were estimated at $360,000, which equates to around £190,000.
That figure is anything but the final amount though, as it doesn't legislate for the division of legal costs that were awarded in both court cases.
Home affairs department legal group manager Pip De Veau was quoted as saying: “The combined estimate at this stage was in the vicinity of $360,000 without any awards going either way.
“That includes external legal expenses and legal expenses internally.
“Costs were awarded against the department in the first proceedings, costs were awarded for the department in the second."
Indeed, Djokovic is yet to stump up his own legal fees for failing in his second appeal, a notion that Government figures will hope help negate their own losses over the ordeal.
“We’ll need to get the invoices and make the determination in consultation with Mr Djokovic’s lawyers as to how those two cost orders are sorted out," added De Veau.
Despite the saga, Djokovic has vowed not to take the vaccine, even if it means missing more tournaments.
