Monday, January 10, 2022
Update
Tournament still not sure
Court lifts Djokovic’s visa blockade
Novak Djokovic spends several days in a quarantine hotel in Melbourne after being prevented from entering by Australian border authorities. Now the tennis star wins in court: the cancellation of his visa has been lifted. But that is not the end of the matter.
Novak Djokovic has won a first partial victory in the legal tug-of-war over his entry into Australia. A court in Melbourne ruled in favor of the 34-year-old tennis star and ordered Djokovic’s release from the quarantine hotel for those obliged to leave the country. Djokovic’s lawyers had taken action against the border guards’ cancellation of his visa after the Serb arrived on Wednesday.
However, the success does not guarantee that Djokovic as defending champion can safely participate in the Australian Open from January 17th. The Australian government has already announced that it will examine another revocation of Djokovic’s visa. Government attorney Christopher Tan told the court that he would check with the Minister of Immigration to see if he could use his “personal power to cancel”.
First of all, Djokovic is allowed to leave the deportation hotel in which he had been for the past few days. He also gets his personal belongings and papers back, as Kelly ordered.
“What more could this man have done?”
At the hearing, Judge Anthony Kelly had made it clear that Djokovic had done everything necessary to be allowed to enter. Kelly listed the steps he had taken prior to his flight to Melbourne and said Djokovic had provided evidence of a medical exemption from a “professor and a highly qualified doctor.” He was also confirmed by a panel of experts independent of the Victorian government. Kelly concluded his comment by asking, “What more could this man have done?”
Djokovic’s lawyers had based their appeal on the fact that their client had been granted an exemption from two independent medical bodies. Djokovic, who was not vaccinated according to court files, tested positive for the corona virus on December 16. However, there are inconsistencies as he appeared that day at a live-streamed public event. He also attended appointments on the following days, such as an award ceremony for young players. The photos show that he was not wearing a mask.
On December 30th, Djokovic received a “medical exemption” from the Australian Tennis Association due to his infection. This applies to unvaccinated but recently recovered people whose illness was at least 14 days ago and who have had no symptoms in the last 72 hours.
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.