At the end of a river hearing of several hours marked by many technical incidents, the Australian justice decided on Monday to release Novak Djokovic.
In a hearing AFP was able to follow online, Federal Judge Anthony Kelly appeared to be defending the 34-year-old. “What more could this man have done?”, he asked, after listing the documents provided by Novak Djokovic to obtain his visa and obtain the right to participate in the Australian Open.
On Saturday, the lawyers of the world No.1 had affirmed in a document filed with the federal court that he had tested positive for Covid-19 on December 16, 2021. This had not, moreover, prevented the champion from attending at two public events in Belgrade, without a mask, the same day and the day after this positive test.
Since he was denied entry into the country overnight, Novak Djokovic had been blocked in a foreigners’ detention center in Melbourne. The Australian federation and its boss Craig Tiley have been accused of misleading players about the vaccination requirements to enter the country.
Imbroglio
Originally, Tennis Australia (the Australian tennis federation) had granted him an exemption, on the grounds of his infection with Covid-19 in December, to participate in the first Grand Slam of the season. His request had previously been approved by two independent medical panels, according to his lawyers. But on his arrival in the country, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, the federal authorities had refused him entry, considering that his grounds for exemption did not meet the strict conditions for entry into the territory linked to the fight against the Covid-19.
The Australian government insists that a recent infection with Covid-19 only counts as an exemption for residents only, not for foreign nationals trying to enter the country. Djokovic “Is not vaccinated”, Australia’s lawyers pointed out in their findings released on Sunday. “This visa application must be refused”, they had pleaded. Foreigners are still banned from traveling to Australia, and those allowed to enter must be fully vaccinated or have a medical exemption.
Retained as “Djoko” after also seeing her visa canceled, Czech player Renata Voracova, a doubles specialist, left Australia on Saturday, according to a government source.
At the Australian Open, which takes place from January 17 to 30, Djokovic aspired to afford a 21st Grand Slam tournament, which would have placed him at the top of tennis history, ahead of his two historic rivals , Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
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