Demonstrations for and against Djokovic; a hearing will be held in Australia on Monday – 01/07/2022

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Braving the rain, 50 people – including tennis fans, anti-vaccine protesters and migrant rights advocates – gathered outside the detention center in Melbourne yesterday, Orthodox Christmas Day, in support of Djokovic.

“We have come to support him because it is our Christmas, and he is having a hard time,” said Sash Aleksic, in front of the facilities. Not all the protesters were, however, followers of Djokovic. “Refugees are welcome, Djokovic is not,” chanted a group, until the police intervened to separate him from the followers of the Serbian star.

Novak Djokovic thanked in an internet message the support that “around the world” has been receiving in recent hours after being in the detention center, waiting to know if he can enter Australia or should return home.

“Thanks to my family, my friends, Serbia, and all the good people around the world who send me their support. Thank God for health, ”he wrote in a message in Serbian. That support, “I can feel it and it is greatly appreciated,” he also wrote in English.

The process.

The tennis player was awaiting an expulsion after the cancellation of his entry visa in Australia, on the night from Wednesday to Thursday, since it did not comply with the strict conditions of entry into the territory, imposed in the framework of the fight against covid-19.

Since Djokovic was imprisoned, his supporters and others who sympathize with his position have spoken out publicly, in Melbourne but especially in Serbia, where he is a national idol.

Novak’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, summoned his son’s followers to protests in Belgrade for another day. “My son has been in prison for three days. He is the best athlete in the world. He has not contravened any law of that country, “he told the press.

A new hearing will be held on Monday before a Melbourne judge, in which he could be expelled.

The retention center, located in the old Hotel Park, hosts 32 refugees and asylum seekers, trapped in Australia’s strict migration system. Djokovic is believed to be among them, but authorities have refused to say where he is being held. Ten days before the start of the tournament (January 17-30), it is anyone’s guess if the Serbian will be able to seek his tenth victory in Melbourne, the fourth in a row, and break the record of 21 Grand Slams that he shares with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.

The visa of Djokovic, who has been skeptical of the anticovid vaccination and does not want to reveal if he has received the injection, was canceled on Wednesday for not meeting the health requirements to cross the Australian border.

The case has put the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison in trouble, questioned about the management of this incident a few months before the federal elections in May. (With information from AFP)

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