Novak Djokovic not scared of anything. While he is currently under fire from criticism for his refusal to be vaccinated to participate in the next Australian Open, he has just made an official request to be transferred from his Melbourne detention center in order to be able to s ‘train. A new star whim?
Novak was placed in the Park Hotel center upon his arrival in Australia “despite his transfer requests“, wrote his lawyers in a petition filed with the federal court seeking to reverse the cancellation of his visa.”The date of the first positive Covid PCR test was recorded on December 16, 2021“, which would benefit the Serbian world No. 1 from an exemption from vaccination imposed by Australia, said the 34-year-old’s lawyers, as AFP clarified. His appeal is to be examined on Monday. time is running out, just over a week before the Australian Open which Djokovic has won nine times and where he aims to win his 21st Grand Slam tournament, which would place him at the top of tennis history, ahead of his two historic rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic posted a photo of him at an airport earlier this week, announcing his departure for Australia and explaining that he had obtained a medical exemption, which tournament management had confirmed. But on his arrival on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, the authorities had refused him entry, considering that his grounds for exemption did not meet the strict conditions for entry into the territory imposed as part of the fight against the Covid. -19. His lawyers denounced the fact that the player was then detained for eight hours, without being able to communicate.
The Federation has been accused of misleading players about the Covid-19 vaccination obligations to enter the country. In a note to players published by several Australian media, the organization assured that a person who recently contracted Covid-19 could benefit from an exemption from the obligation to be fully vaccinated. Novak Djokovic has always refused to communicate on his vaccination status, while not concealing his hostility to vaccination.
The Australian government has assured to have warned Tennis Australia in November that this provision was only valid for Australian residents, not for foreign citizens wishing to enter the country. The boss of Tennis Australia explains that the Federation has chosen not to speak publicly because of the appeal of Djokovic who Friday, for his first reaction, thanked in a short message on social networks his supporters around the world, as well than “God for health“In Serbia, the treatment inflicted on the idol of the whole country aroused the indignation and intervention of President Aleksandar Vucic.
In Australia, home to a large Serbian community, around 100 supporters and anti-vaccine activists chanted “Novak“Saturday in front of the detention center. Elsewhere in the city, a demonstration brought together hundreds of anti-ax, some of whom have proclaimed their support for Djokovic. The Australian imbroglio is already asking questions about the rest of his season, in particular to United States, starting with Indian Wells and Miami in the spring. The vaccine is compulsory to cross the American border. The next Grand Slam tournament is Roland-Garros in the spring. French Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu, on the other hand, considered that “the health protocols imposed for major events“sportsmen, would allow Novak Djokovic to enter France.
Criticized by an overwhelming majority, including a certain Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic can at least count on the support of his wife Jelena.