Sydney (Reuters, AFP)
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that no decision has yet been taken on the possibility of revoking the visa of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, the world number one, and expelling him.
Morrison told a news conference that the position of Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, who previously stated that he was considering whether or not to cancel the visa, “has not changed.”
Novak Djokovic’s name has been confirmed in the men’s competition main draw, despite suspicions that the government will revoke his visa for a second time.
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is studying the possibility of revoking the visa of Djokovic, who is seeking a 21st Grand Slam title and 10th at Melbourne Park, for reasons related to the medical exemption required to enter the country.
Djokovic, who trained at the Rod Laver Arena, is expected to play fellow Serbian unseeded Miomir Kismanovic on Monday or Tuesday.
The Australian Federation had postponed the draw for more than an hour without explaining the reasons, and Craig Tilly, director of the Australian Open, appeared at the draw ceremony, but refused to take any questions.
If all goes well with Djokovic, he could face Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals.
Sixth seed Rafael Nadal, who is level with Djokovic and Roger Federer, who will miss the Australian Open, will start his career with 20 grand slam titles against unseeded American Marcos Giron.
Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev, who was crushed by Djokovic in last year’s final at Melbourne Park, will play Swiss Henri Laksonen, while third seed Alex Zverev will meet Germany’s Daniel Altmaier.
In the women’s draw, Australian top seed Ashleigh Barty will begin her campaign to win her first Australian Open title against a qualifier.
13th seed Naomi Osaka begins her title defense campaign against Colombia’s Camila Osorio.
Djokovic sparked anger in Australia last week when he announced that he would go to Melbourne to participate in the Australian Open, after obtaining a medical exemption to enter the country for non-vaccinated people.
Upon Djokovic’s arrival, the border authorities deemed the exemption invalid, and Djokovic was held in the asylum-seekers’ detention hotel for several days.
A court released Djokovic on Monday after a judge overturned the decision to cancel his visa and said the decision was “not justified” because the player did not have enough time to consult with his lawyer and tennis officials upon arrival in the country.
The Australian government, which won strong support at home for its tough stance on border security before and during the pandemic, must now decide whether to allow Djokovic to stay and compete for the 10th Australian Open title.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to comment on Djokovic’s visa situation.
An administrative error added to Djokovic’s problems when his assistant team filled out the form required to travel to Australia and ticked the “No” box in response to a question regarding his travel to anywhere in the last 14 days before coming to Australia.
Djokovic attributed the error to his agent and admitted that he should have scheduled another photo session for a French magazine, when he was infected with the Corona virus.
A group of fans, including Australians of Serbian descent, backed the player when he was detained, calling anti-vaccination activists a hero while his family described him as a champion of individual rights.
But Djokovic may face hostility from the crowd when he takes to the field.
There is widespread anger in Australia, which has a vaccination rate of 90 percent of adults and is facing a new wave of the Corona virus due to the highly contagious Omicron mutant, after enduring the longest closure in the world in order to reduce the epidemic.
“He’s arrogant, he seems to have been lying too, so I think maybe he should go back to where he came from,” Melbourne resident Tehan Esmin said on Wednesday.
There may also be resentment among the players, as among the top 100 ranked men in the men’s competition, all but three have been vaccinated.
Tennis legend Martina Navratliova told Australian television that Djokovic should “shut up” and go home.
“The bottom line is that sometimes, you have to go beyond your personal beliefs, for the greater good and for those around you and your peers, you have two choices, either get a vaccine or don’t play,” she told Seven Sunrise.
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