Djokovic included in Australian Open draw as visa decision looms

The world’s top-ranked men’s tennis player Novak Djokovic has been included in the Australian Open official draw although uncertainty remains about whether the government will cancel his visa for a second time, Aljazeera reported.

Australia’s Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is weighing exercising his discretionary powers to revoke Djokovic’s visa over concerns regarding the tennis player’s medical exemption from Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

The draw took place at 4:15pm Melbourne time (05:15 GMT) on Thursday.

The original draw was scheduled an hour and 15 minutes earlier but several minutes after it was supposed to begin, an announcement was made that it had been postponed until further notice.

Djokovic, who was out practising in the Rod Laver Arena earlier on Thursday, drew unseeded fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic for his opening round match, expected to be played on Monday or Tuesday.

Rafael Nadal was placed in the same half, meaning he could meet Djokovic in the semi-finals.
Djokovic, a vaccine sceptic, prompted 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, Australian Border Force officials decided his exemption was invalid and he was held alongside asylum-seekers at an immigration detention hotel for several days.

On Monday, a court 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 big title.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to comment on Djokovic’s visa on Thursday.

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.

In fact, he had gone to Spain from Serbia. Djokovic, 34, attributed the error to his agent and acknowledged he also should have rescheduled an interview and photoshoot for a French newspaper on December while infected with COVID-19.
Fans, including many Serbian Australians, gave him noisy support when he was detained, people against vaccinations have hailed him as a hero and his family have portrayed him as a champion for individual rights.

But Djokovic may face hostility from the crowd if and when he walks out on court.

There is widespread anger over the saga among Australians, who have a 90 percent vaccination rate among adults and are battling a wave of the Omicron variant after enduring some of the world’s longest lockdowns aimed at curbing the pandemic.

“I don’t like his arrogance,” Teyhan Ismain, a Melbourne resident, said on Wednesday. “It does seem that he’s been telling a few fibs too. So I think he should just probably go back.”

There may also be resentment in the dressing room, where all but three of the top 100 male players are inoculated.

Tennis great Martina Navratilova told Australian television Djokovic should “suck it up” and 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.”