Court allows entry: Novak Djokovic can take part in the Australian Open

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Novak Djokovic

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Sarah Stier / Getty Images

Novak Djokovic achieved an initial success in the procedure for his entry to Australia.

A court in Melbourne ruled in favor of the 34-year-old tennis player on Monday and ordered Djokovic's release from the detention center for persons obliged to leave the country.

Djokovic's lawyers had taken action against the cancellation of his visa by the border protection authorities after the Serb's arrival last Wednesday.

However, the judgment does not guarantee that Djokovic as defending champion can safely participate in the Australian Open from January 17th. The Australian government had already announced before the negotiations that it would consider further steps to continue denying Djokovic the visa if the entry refusal was lifted. This was confirmed by the government attorney Christopher Tran at the end of the trial.

Djokovic's lawyers had based their appeal on the fact that their client had been granted an exemption from two independent medical bodies.

Djokovic, who was unvaccinated according to court files, tested positive for the corona virus on December 16 and did everything he thought was necessary to enter Australia.

The judge in charge, Anthony Kelly, followed this assessment.

"What else could this man have done?" Asked the Kelly at the beginning of the trial.

Positive corona test on December 16

Djokovic, who had repeatedly expressed himself critical of corona vaccinations, landed in Melbourne on Wednesday evening after he said he had received an exemption from the organizers of the Australian Open for entry without proof of vaccination. However, the Australian border guards did not recognize this and withdrew his visa.

Djokovic's lawyers named a positive corona test of their client on December 16 as the reason for the exemption. However, there are photos on Instagram that show how Djokovic stands close together with young players without a mask one day after the allegedly positive PCR test at an event in Serbia. There were also other inconsistencies. For the first time, the exceptional tennis player tested positive for the corona virus during his heavily criticized Adria Tour in June 2020.

Even before the trouble about entering Australia, his vaccination status had been a topic of discussion for months.

The tennis professional had made it a secret and called the status a private matter, but this has now been clarified.

The court documents show that Djokovic stated when questioned by an Australian Border Guard officer that he was "not vaccinated against Covid-19".

In the past few days, the case had caused quite a stir at the political level.

The Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke of a "harassment" of Djokovic, while his father struck even sharper tones during protests in Belgrade.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison resisted, insisting that no one was above the law.

The Australian Open will be held from January 17th to 30th.

Djokovic has won the tournament nine times - more often than anyone else.

He is aiming for his 21st Grand Slam title.

This would leave him behind his rivals Rafael Nadal from Spain and Roger Federer from Switzerland and become the sole Grand Slam record tournament winner.

krä / sid / dpa