With a medical exemption in his pocket, Novak Djokovic traveled to Australia for the first grand slam tournament of the year. Two panels of medical experts had examined and approved the Serb’s request.
But why Djokovic had been granted an exemption has long been unclear. Everyone invoked his professional secrecy. But the court documents now show that Djokovic was still infected with the corona virus on December 16.
“14 days later, Djokovic had not had any fever or respiratory problems in the last 72 hours,” his lawyers said in a statement.
On that basis, the tournament organization had given the number 1 in the world a visa and a medical exemption to participate in the tournament. The Serb also had written permission from the Australian Immigration Service to enter the country, according to his lawyers.
Nevertheless, the Serb was stopped at the border control. He is now awaiting the verdict of the Australian court in a detention hotel in Melbourne. A final hearing is scheduled for Monday.
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Meanwhile, in an internal video that has been leaked, tournament director Craig Tiley boasts of “the incredible work” his team has already done on the Djokovic soap opera. “There’s a lot of finger pointing, but I can assure you that our team has done an incredible job,” it sounds.
The video was intended for internal use, but was made public by the Australian newspaper Herald Sun. The Australian Tennis Federation has been at the center of criticism for allegedly misleading players about the conditions to enter the country.
In a note sent to the players – and published by various Australian media – the organization assured that a recent corona infection was enough to receive an exemption.
However, the Australian government had warned in November that that provision was only valid for residents of the country, not for foreign players wishing to enter the country.
Still, Tiley assures his team “did everything possible according to all instructions given”. “We work closely with Novak and his team.”
The information from the Australian Open does state that the deadline to request an exception was December 10. How Djokovic, who only tested positive on December 16, received an exception, raises questions again.
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Djokovic has meanwhile been joined by Czech doubles player Renata Voracova (38) in his detention hotel. She had been allowed into the country, but was arrested not much later and taken to the detention hotel.
“I can’t say they have been mean,” Voracova told Czech media. “But it all felt a bit like an action movie. Different practices in quarantine are not fun: you have to report everything and everything is rationed. It feels a bit like a prison.”
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