Melbourne (AP) – The Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has had success with his objection to the refusal of his entry to Australia, but has to continue to fear his start at the Australian Open.
An Australian court ruled Djokovic and ordered that the 34-year-old may leave the deportation hotel where he had been for the past few days. However, Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke can still exercise his personal right to have his visa revoked.
Immigration minister with right of veto
Initially, however, the immigration minister did not make use of it. The Australian newspaper “The Age” reported that Hawke would not make a decision on Monday. However, he can still do this in the next few days. “The minister is currently working on the case, and this process is still ongoing,” said a Hawke spokesman on Monday evening (local time).
The government had already announced before the negotiation that it would consider further steps to continue denying Djokovic the visa if the entry refusal was lifted. Government attorney Christopher Tran confirmed this at the end of the trial. Djokovic, who would then face denial of entry to Australia for the next three years, could also appeal again against a renewed denial of the visa.
First of all, Djokovic is allowed to move freely in Melbourne. The 34-year-old Serb was allowed to leave the deportation hotel. In addition, the judge Anthony Kelly ordered that Djokovic get his personal belongings and his passport back.
He is currently in the office of his lawyers, said his brother Djordje Djokovic on Serbian television. In the evening, turbulent scenes took place in front of the building on Collins Street in the center of Melbourne. Thousands of Djokovic supporters had come with Serbia flags to support Djokovic. According to “The Age” police used pepper spray when people pressed a car as it was leaving the underground car park.
Djokovic with first partial success
Djokovic had previously achieved a first important victory in the Commonwealth Law Courts Building a week before the start of the Australian Open. “It was a big defeat for the Australian government and they are having a hard time with it,” Djokovic’s brother said on Serbian television. Serbian reports that Djokovic had been taken back into custody by the police in Melbourne after leaving the deportation hotel were not confirmed.
Kelly had said in the first part of the hearing on Monday, in which Djokovic’s lawyers presented their views, that he considered the behavior of the authorities to be disproportionate. “What more could this man have done?” Kelly had said.
The Djokovic case has been causing a stir far beyond the tennis scene for days. The 34-year-old was refused entry at Melbourne Airport on Wednesday evening (local time). From the point of view of the authorities, he was unable to present the necessary documents for a medical exemption to be allowed to enter the country without a corona vaccination.
The course of events after the arrival at the airport contributed to the decision to grant the tennis star’s appeal, as Kelly made clear. At 5.20 a.m. last Thursday morning, Djokovic was informed that he had until 8.30 a.m. to comment on the cancellation of the visa. He was asked from 6:14 a.m., the decision was made at 7:42 a.m. – too early.
Djokovic was taken to a hotel for people obliged to leave the country. The Serb appealed against the decision. According to court documents, Djokovic’s side said that he received a waiver on December 30th from the medical director of the Australian Tennis Federation.
Vaccination status has been an issue for months
A positive corona test from December 2021 should help him participate in the Australian Open. The court documents indicate that Djokovic is said to have tested positive for the corona virus for the second time on December 16, 2021. However, there were a number of inconsistencies. For the first time, the exceptional tennis player tested positive for the corona virus during his heavily criticized Adria Tour in June 2020.
Even before the trouble about entering Australia, his vaccination status had been a topic of discussion for months. The tennis professional had made it a secret and called the status a private matter, but this has now been clarified. The court documents show that Djokovic stated when questioned by an Australian Border Guard officer that he was “not vaccinated against Covid-19”.
The Australian Open will be held from January 17th to 30th. Djokovic has won the tournament nine times – more often than anyone else. He is aiming for his 21st Grand Slam title. This would leave him behind his rivals Rafael Nadal from Spain and Roger Federer from Switzerland and become the sole Grand Slam record tournament winner.
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