Australian Open: Faced with allegations, Novak Djokovic admits his “mistakes”

He does his mea culpa. Novak Djokovic admitted on Wednesday January 12 that he had committed “errors” in completing his entry form in Australia and in his behavior after testing positive for Covid-19 in December, while his participation in the Australian Open is still pending. In a post on Instagram, the unvaccinated world tennis number 1 claimed his team had provided additional information to Australian authorities, who must now rule on a possible cancellation of his visa and deportation.

“We are living in difficult times in a global pandemic and sometimes mistakes do happen”, pleaded the Serbian, who is currently training to participate in the Australian Open from January 17. “Nole” was seen in public in Belgrade the day after December 16, when he tested positive, according to information he provided to Australian immigration officials. Claiming to be a victim of “informations” let him judge “very hurtful” for his family and relatives, he said he had not yet received the result of his test, carried out the day before, when he appeared in public on December 17.

That day, “Djoko” participated in the launch of a stamp in Serbia and in a meeting with young tennis players. Photos released by the Belgrade Tennis Federation show him with Federation officials and around 20 teenagers, all without masks. In his defense, the 34-year-old explained that he had carried out two antigen tests, both negative, in parallel with the PCR test, which later came back to him positive. “I had no symptoms and felt fine, and had not received the positive PCR test notification until the end of this event.”, he assured.

Novak Djokovic recognized, on the other hand, a “error of judgment”, that of having received, then asymptomatic patient, journalists of the daily The team for an interview. “I felt compelled to go on and do the interview, as I didn’t want to let the reporter down, but I made sure to respect social distancing and wear a mask, except when my portrait was done.”, he explained. “On reflection, (…) I admit that I should have postponed this engagement”.

Likewise, the Serbian evoked a “human error” for having incorrectly filled in the entry form for Australia. The administrative document has been widely circulated by Australian media, and shows that he checked the box confirming that he has not traveled in the 14 days prior to arriving in Australia on January 5. However, Djokovic was, in these two weeks, in Serbia then in Spain. This statement “was submitted by my team on my behalf,” he wrote on Instagram. “My agent sincerely apologizes for this administrative error in checking the wrong box regarding my trips prior to my arrival in Australia. (…) It was a human error and certainly not a deliberate one.”.