The Novak Djokovic saga refuses to end.
The Australian Immigration Service is investigating whether the Serbian tennis player provided a false statement at the entrance to the country, stating that he had not visited any other country 14 days before his visit to Australia, when social media posts allegedly showed he was in Belgrade at Christmas before flying to Australia from Spain on January 4.
Despite the victory in returning his visa, yesterday (Monday) in court, Djokovic's fate will now be determined by Australia's immigration minister Alex Hawke, due to his personal power to revoke the world number one visa again and expel him from the country.
Hawk said he would "seriously consider" when any decision to revoke his visa would likely be met with a new legal challenge from Djokovic, and a request for a restraining order to avoid immigration detention so he can play in the Australian Open, where he pursues a Grand Slam 21 career record.
In order to revoke the visa, Hawk would have to explain the reason for the revocation, such as a threat to public safety, and that the revocation was in the public interest.
This could lead to a re-examination of Djokovic's statement that in the two weeks before the trip he had not been to other countries.
In his statement on January 1, his Australian passenger declared Djokovic "no" when asked: "Did you travel in the 14 days prior to your flight to Australia to another country?"
The statement is accompanied by a warning that giving false or misleading information is a "serious offense" for which civil penalties can be imposed.
In documents filed with the federal court, Djokovic said that on January 1 he authorized his agent to file that statement, before traveling to Melbourne from Spain via Dubai on January 4.
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