Melbourne (AP) – The parents of tennis star Novak Djokovic took part in a protest rally in downtown Belgrade and were optimistic about their son’s refusal to enter the country before the trial in Melbourne.
“Today is a great day. Today the whole world will hear the truth,” said Djokovic’s mother Dijana. “We hope that Novak comes out a free man. We send him our love. We believe in him, but also in the independent judiciary in Melbourne,” she said.
The conditions in the hotel in Melbourne, where Djokovic was staying, described his mother as “not humane”. Her son wouldn’t even have breakfast, could only stare at the wall, not see the park in front of it, or leave the room.
“We are proud people. They cannot break us,” said Djokovic’s father Srdjan. Novak is the “personification of freedom, everything human that a person carries within”.
A Melbourne court hears Djokovic’s objection to his denial of entry to Australia. The page of the 34-year-old world number one should comment first on Monday (10:00 a.m. local time / 12:00 a.m. CET). The Australian Home Office representatives are scheduled to deliver their opinion in court at 3:00 p.m. / 5:00 a.m. CET. When a decision would be made was initially unclear.
Djokovic was refused entry to Melbourne on Wednesday evening (local time). From the authorities’ point of view, the Serb was unable to present the necessary documents for a medical exemption in order to be able to enter the country without a corona vaccination. Since then he has stayed in a hotel for people obliged to leave the country. Djokovic is fighting to stay in Australia and defend his title at the Australian Open. The first Grand Slam tournament of the year starts on January 17th.
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