Novak Djokovic should be able to stay in Melbourne and defend his title at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, held from January 17 to 30. Monday, January 10, the world number 1 won his appeal against the Australian Department of Home Affairs before the federal court in the city.
The Serbian succeeded in having the rejection of his visa for entering the island continent, which occurred on January 6, canceled after the Australian authorities considered that he had not presented the documents required to justify a medical exemption from vaccination against Covid-19, compulsory to enter the country.
The Australian government lawyer, however, raised the possibility of a further cancellation of his visa, by the Minister of Immigration, who could use his “Personal cancellation power”.
The judge, Anthony Kelly, immediately warned against such a scenario, stressing that in this scenario, Novak Djokovic could be deprived of access to Australian territory for three years. He also ordered his release within thirty minutes of the verdict. The hearing, broadcast online, was accessible to everyone.
“What more could he have done?” “
On Saturday, the player had forwarded to the court, through his lawyers, a document in which he characterized the decision to prevent him from entering Australia as “Gravely illogical, irrational or legally unreasonable” and warned against “The extremely damaging effect for [lui] of a visa cancellation decision – financially, in terms of reputation, professionally – as well as the (at least) detrimental consequences for the Australian Open and tennis fans ”.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, for its part, maintained that Novak Djokovic had benefited from a “Fair procedure” and that a past infection with Covid-19 did not constitute a valid reason for obtaining a waiver, as the player seemed to believe, who claimed to have followed the procedure by providing all the required evidence of contamination in mid-December .
“I’m somewhat disturbed by this, what more could he have done?” “, wondered, Monday morning, the judge, indicating that the player had provided the medical exemptions of a professor, a “Eminently qualified doctor”, not to mention that of the two independent panels established by the State of Victoria and the Australian Tennis Federation to authorize him to participate in the tournament.
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