Setback for Djokovic: Visa declared invalid

The world number one's participation in the Australian Open, which begins on Monday, is not yet ruled out because the 34-year-old may be able to take further legal action, but it has become unlikely. Djokovic has not been vaccinated against the coronavirus and is therefore a controversial figure in the country that has set tough rules since the beginning of the pandemic. When Djokovic arrived last week, the authorities had already refused entry and classified the documents presented for his medical exemption as insufficient. Because he was not given enough time to react, a judge overturned the entry ban during a court hearing on Monday. Since then, Djokovic has been training normally and preparing for the Australian Open. He is the defending champion there; on Thursday the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic was drawn as his opponent for the first round. The 34-year-old was refused entry to Australia at Melbourne airport last week because he was not vaccinated against the coronavirus and the authorities did not have sufficient documentation of his medical exemption. However, because the border officials did not give him the agreed time to clarify the matter, the decision was overturned in court. Heated discussions across Australia and the world The Australian government had announced that it would consider further steps to revoke Djokovic's visa. The case also became a severe test for the country's politics after Australia spent many months in tough lockdowns and many of the country's citizens were not allowed to enter their homeland for a long time because of the strict rules. On Wednesday, Djokovic denied intentionally making false statements and endangering other people, but admitted errors in the handling of his positive test result. He defended himself against two accusations in particular via Instagram: He neither intentionally gave false information about his travel behavior in the 14 days before the flight to the host country of the Australian Open, nor did he attend an event with children in December knowing that he had a positive corona test and moves there without a mask. Half-hearted apology from Djokovic Djokovic called the “misinformation” that needed to be corrected “hurtful and worrying for my family.” However, he admitted that he already knew about his positive test result during an interview with the French sports newspaper “L'Equipe” on December 18th and still did not cancel the appointment. “Although I went home after the interview and went into isolation for the required period, on reflection, that was a misjudgment and I realize that I should have postponed that commitment,” he wrote. In his statement, Djokovic described the fact that his entry form incorrectly stated that he had not traveled in the 14 days before his flight to Australia as a “human error” on the part of his agent, “which was certainly not intentional”.

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Setback for Djokovic: Visa declared invalid

Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has invalidated Serbian tennis pro Novak Djokovic's visa in a personal decision. This was well-founded and “in the public interest,” the minister said on Friday.

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