After being detained for several hours in a room by two police officers at Melbourne airport, the nine-time winner of the Australian Open was placed in a modest hotel near the airport. The world number one in tennis, who will not be expelled from Australia before a new hearing on Monday, will therefore have to wait in his room, waiting to know his fate. The Park hotel is not a palace. Far from the standards of Djokovic, used to normal comfort on the circuit. According to
Reuters
, this low-end hotel is home to illegal refugees, without valid visas for more than two years. And several isolated people in this hotel would have complained that their food contained worms and mold!
No preferential treatment therefore for the boss of world tennis.
Housed in the same boat as all other travelers who have tried to enter Australian soil without a compliant visa.
In short, not ideal conditions to prepare for a tennis tournament.
But the Serb seems ready for a standoff.
From the window of his hotel in Melbourne, where only visa-free refugees reside, images showed a Djokovic sending kisses to those who came to support him.
To read also Nadal on the situation of Djokovic: "Sorry for him but he knew the conditions"
A new surreal image of an incredible soap opera.
Because if the vast majority of Australians are against the presence of the world number one, unvaccinated, on their soil, Melbourne is also home to a strong community of Serbs.
Demonstrators, largely from the Serbian diaspora, are present to support "Novax" Djokovic.
