Novak Djokovic was detained by Australian immigration officials on Saturday morning local time, as he fights to remain in the country and take part in the Australian open.
The tennis star has launched another appeal after his visa was quashed on Friday by Australia’s immigration minister Alex Hawke. The men’s world No1, who is unvaccinated but has claimed an exemption from Australia’s strict rules on visitors being vaccinated against Covid-19 due to having already had a bout of the disease, faces a race against time to have his visa reinstated with his first match of the Australian Open scheduled for Monday evening.
On Friday, Hawke announced that he had cancelled Djokovic’s visa on “health and good order grounds”. Djokovic’s legal team immediately fought the decision and the case will now go to a federal court over the weekend, with Djokovic’s lawyers pushing hard for a final decision on Sunday before he begins his bid for an historic 21st Grand Slam. The 34-year-old Serbian has been summoned to a meeting with border authorities on Saturday morning, and could then be detained in a state hotel while the case is heard.
Pressure has been building all week after Djokovic broke his silence over a number of accusations of breaking Covid protocol on Wednesday, and he conceded that he broke isolation and conducted an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe despite knowing that he was positive for the virus, such a transgression could result in up to five years in prison if proven that he lied about his positive test.
Follow all the latest news below as Djokovic fights deportation once more.
