The matter now rests with the Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to exercise his discretionary powers and revoke Djokovic’s visa over concerns about the superstar’s medical exemption from Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
World No.1 Tennis star Novak Djokovic has been included in the official draw of the Australian Open on Thursday, January 13, although it is still uncertain whether he will play at all if the government decides to cancel the top seed’s visa for a second time, a report in The Peninsula, Qatar, says.
The matter now rests with the Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to weigh to exercise his discretionary powers and revoke Djokovic’s visa over concerns about the superstar’s medical exemption from Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
Djokovic, who was out practicing on Rod Laver Arena earlier in the day, drew unseeded fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic for his opening round match, expected to be played on Monday or Tuesday.( Jan 17/18)
Djokovic, a vaccine sceptic, fuelled widespread anger in Australia last week when he announced he was heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open with a medical exemption from requirements for visitors to be inoculated against COVID-19.
On his arrival, the Australian Border Force officials decided his exemption was invalid and he was held alongside asylum-seekers at an immigration detention hotel since several days.
A court had earlier allowed him to stay on the grounds that officials had been “unreasonable” in the way they handled his interview in a seven-hour process in the middle of the night.
The Australian government, which has won strong support at home for its tough stance on border security before and during the pandemic, must now decide whether to let Djokovic remain and bid for a record 21st major title.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to comment on Djokovic’s visa on Thursday.
MISTAKES MADE
Djokovic’s cause was not helped by a mistake in his entry declaration, where the box stating he had not travelled abroad in the two weeks prior to leaving for Australia was ticked.
He had in fact gone to Spain from Serbia. Djokovic, 34, attributed the error to his agent.
Fans, including many Serbian Australians, gave him noisy support when he was detained, anti-vaxxers have hailed him as a hero and his family have portrayed him as a champion for individual rights.
However, there is widespread anger over this whole episode among Australians, who have a 90% vaccination rate among adults and are battling a wave of the Omicron variant, enduring some of the world’s longest lockdowns.
Tennis great Martina Navratilova told Australian television Djokovic should just return home. “The bottom line is, sometimes your personal beliefs have to be trumped by what’s good for the greater good, for those around you, for your peers,” she told Seven’s Sunrise programme. “You have two choices, get vaccinated or just don’t go play.”
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