Tennis star wins in court: Novak Djokovic is allowed to stay in Australia – sport
The objection of the Serbian tennis professional Novak Djokovic against his refused entry to Australia has been granted. That was decided by a court in Melbourne on Monday. The consequences for the participation of the defending champion in the Australian Open, which starts in a week, was initially unclear.
As the BBC reports, Djokovic had to disclose the reason for the medical exemption, thanks to which he wants to take part in the tournament: He was temporarily due to Corona on December 16, 2021, a good four weeks ago – and now recovered. However, that was not enough for the Australian border police to allow Djokovic to enter, because the convalescent status alone is not enough for unvaccinated people in Australia.
However, there were a number of inconsistencies. The exceptional tennis player had already tested positive for the corona virus during his heavily criticized Adria Tour in June 2020. In addition, even after the PCR test on December 16, Djokovic attended numerous events – almost all of them without a mask.
Even before the trial, the Australian government had further steps to continue denying Djokovic the visa in the event of the denial of entry being lifted. This was confirmed by the government attorney Christopher Tran at the end of the trial.
Djokovic is allowed to leave the deportation hotel
Djokovic achieved a first important victory with the court decision in the Commonwealth Law Courts Building in Melbourne. The next few days will show whether he can really defend his title at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. First of all, Djokovic is allowed to leave the deportation hotel in which he had been for the past few days and gets his personal belongings and papers back, as ordered by judge Anthony Kelly.
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Kelly had stated in the first part of the hearing on Monday, in which Djokovic’s lawyers presented their view of things, that he considered the behavior of the authorities to be disproportionate. “What more could this man have done?” Kelly had said.
The fuss about exemption
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 submit the necessary documents for a medical exemption to be allowed to enter the country even without a corona vaccination. Djokovic was taken to a hotel for people obliged to leave the country.
The Serb had 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.
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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 described the status as a private matter. 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. (dpa)