Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke exercised his right to re-revoke Novak Djokovic’s visa. The number one tennis player, of course, will not leave it like that, and his lawyers are already ready to challenge the decision. Meanwhile, chaos could break out at the Australian Open, as the draw has already been made, the main draw participants are almost decided. What to do now Tennis Australia is not clear.
“Today, I used my authority to cancel Mr. Novak Djokovic ‘s visa , on the grounds that it is in the public interest. This decision follows a Federal District Court ruling dated January 10, 2022, overturning a previous annulment decision on grounds of procedural fairness. In making this decision, I have carefully considered the information provided to me by the Home Office, the Australian Border Force and Mr. Djokovic. Our government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said in a statement on Friday evening Australian time.
Now Djokovic’s lawyers will be preparing an appeal all night, so both the player and the tournament management have already been waiting for such an outcome. Six hours earlier, according to The Age, the name of the Serbian tennis player was removed from the list of training sessions on the courts of Melbourne Park.
The fact that he is considering the possibility of exercising his right to cancel the visa, Mr. Hawke said on Monday, January 10, immediately after the court decision that canceled the deportation of Djokovic. But for some reason, he studied the documents for too long, and announced his decision five days later. Since then, the draw has taken place at the Grand Slam tournament, and the nine-time winner of the Australian Open recognized his first opponent – his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic was supposed to be .
Now chaos can begin on the AO. According to The Age, Djokovic may be ordered to leave the country in a few hours, but for now he will again be placed in the same migration detention center in which he spent last weekend. However, the Serb is definitely going to fight for his right to participate in his favorite tournament. However, in which case, Kecmanovic can be considered lucky – Novak will withdraw, and he will pass without a fight to the second round.
If the withdrawal occurs before 11:00 am Saturday, in accordance with the rules of the Grand Slam tournaments, the draw may be changed. Then the Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev can play with Ketsmanovich.
Meanwhile, according to a NewsCorp poll of 60,000 people, 83 percent of Australians voted to deport Novak Djokovic.
MK-Sport will closely monitor developments.
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