Melbourne (AP) – Three days before the start of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic is still waiting for a decision on his visa for Australia and the opportunity to defend his title.
Even on Friday afternoon local time in Melbourne, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke had not yet given any signal as to whether he would use his personal right to invalidate the Serbian tennis professional’s visa because he was not vaccinated against the corona virus. Meanwhile, the number one in the world rankings trained early in the day instead of in the afternoon as originally planned.
“Absolute mess”
Hawke gets pressure from Australian politics for the long hesitation. “Alex Hawke, where are you? Missing?” asked Senator Jacqui Lambie, according to the Australian news agency AAP. “If you can’t make a decision about Novak Djokovic, my goodness, how do you people rule the country? It’s an absolute mess.” She further said Djokovic should be sent packing if he broke the rules.
The Australian authorities’ decision on whether Djokovic can remain in the country and compete in the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne from Monday is eagerly awaited. Last week, the 34-year-old was refused entry into the country because he was not vaccinated against the corona virus and the authorities did not have enough documentation for his medical exemption. However, because the border officials had not given him the agreed time to clarify the matter, the judge temporarily overturned the decision on Monday.
Hawke remains silent
Hawke continues to have no comment. Australian journalists report that people around him say there is a tendency to invalidate Djokovic’s visa – but until the afternoon it was nothing more than rumours.
After the fiasco for the government in the first court case, when Djokovic had to be handed his visa again due to a formal error, the minister apparently wants to make a decision this time that will withstand the objections that Djokovic’s lawyers are sure to expect in the event of renewed expulsion .
The pressure on Hawke is great from many sides. The mood in Australia – with the exception of the Serbian community – is clearly against Djokovic. Many Australians have experienced a lot of deprivation in the almost two years of the pandemic.
“I definitely understand the people here. They’ve really had a tough time over the last two years,” said German number one Angelique Kerber, expressing himself cautiously: “Rules are rules that apply to everyone, whether you’re number one or a qualifier,” said the 33-year-old from Kiel: “I also hope that there will soon be nice and positive news about the sport again.”
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