A lucky draw, no luck with a scratch. At the end of a ten-day health and sports saga, Novak Djokovic had his visa revoked on Friday by the Australian government due to doubts about the justifications provided by the Serbian player on his exemption from the Covid-19 vaccine.
The number 1 in world tennis is now in the table of the Australian Open, the draw of which took place on Thursday: he was to play against the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, 78th in the world, in the first round.
The 34-year-old Serb is expected to appeal the decision and could in the meantime start playing the tournament which begins on Monday. He continued to train in Melbourne on Friday in hopes of securing a 10th Australian Open title, and a 21st Grand Slam victory, which would be a record.
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used his discretion to revoke his visa as a last resort. As a result, Djokovic risks being banned from entering Australia for 3 years.
“In making this decision, I carefully considered the information provided to me by the Home Office, the Australian Border Force and Mr. Djokovic”, explained the minister in a press release. Today I have exercised the power conferred on me by Article 133C (3) of the Migration Law to cancel the visa held by Mr. Novak Djokovic for health reasons (…) on the grounds that he was in the public interest to do so ”.
Update at 8:10 am with explanations from the Minister of Immigration.
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