Novak Djokovic: Australia probes star’s Covid-19 breach and visa errors
Australian officials have widened their investigation into Novak Djokovic after several new questions were raised over the tennis star’s visa application, according to reports.
Immigration authorities are looking into his admission of breaking isolation rules in his native Serbia, false statements about his previous travel on his entry form and exactly when his Covid-19 tests were carried out, say the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Djokovic won his appeal against deportation earlier on Monday and hopes to defend his Australian Open title next week but could still be thrown out of the country.
Australia’s immigration minister Alex Hawke has the power to cancel the men’s world No1’s visa for having insufficient grounds for a medical exemption from vaccination.
But the widening of the probe also raises the possibility of the visa being cancelled on character grounds.
The development is the latest sign that Australia is refusing to back down in the bitter wrangle with one of sport’s biggest stars.
Addressing the specifics of his legal row for the first time, Djokovic admitted today that he conducted a newspaper interview last month after testing positive for Covid-19. The 20-time Grand Slam winner called it an “error of judgement”.
Djokovic also attributed a false declaration on his entry form, which omitted to mention a recent trip to Spain, to his agent. The Serb said his representative “sincerely apologises” for the “administrative mistake”.