Australian Open 2022: Will Novak Djokovic stay or be sent back? Detention saga continues ahead of hearing
After spending four nights at the Park Hotel in Melbourne, an Australian immigration detention centre, all eyes will be on World No.1 Novak Djokovic when his court hearing in a deportation case resumes on Monday (January 10).
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After spending four nights at the Park Hotel in Melbourne, an Australian immigration detention centre, all eyes will be on World No.1 Novak Djokovic when his court hearing in a deportation case resumes on Monday (January 10).
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On Wednesday, Djokovic touched down in Melbourne for the Australian Open 2022, only to be informed that his medical exemption from being vaccinated against the novel coronavirus was insufficient - sparking a diplomatic row between Australia and Serbia.
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The Australian Open defending champion's lawyers have filed court papers challenging the deportation from Australia. These papers reportedly reveal that Novak Djokovic tested positive for COVID-19 last month and recovered. Reports add that the Serbian tennis star used this as grounds in applying for a medical exemption to Australia's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules.
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In Melbourne's Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Djokovic's case is scheduled for a virtual hearing at 10 am local time in Melbourne.
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In an ideal world, Novak Djokovic would have been eating food cooked by his chef, trained on-court for the Australian Open 2022, worked out at a posh gym and mingled with his support group and friends along the way.
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Instead, the World No.1 tennis player has been confined to his $104-a-night room in 'Hotel Hell', where detainees have in the past complained of mouldy and maggot-ridden food.
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Park Hotel gained disgrace for operating as a holding facility for refugees imprisoned on Manus Island and Nauru, seeking medical care under the now-defunct Medevac laws. Djokovic's bother, Djordje, claimed that the Australian Open defending champion was in a 'dirty room without any belongings' and was being treated 'like a criminal.'
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Novak Djokovic's fellow residents in the detention hotel include refugees and asylum-seekers, who have been living at the Park Hotel for days and months to the extent that they sure feel forgotten.
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The World No.1 tennis star's mere presence at the immigration detention hotel, an unattractive building in Melbourne's downtown, has drawn the world's attention to those other residents and their ongoing struggles with Australia's immigration system.
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Human rights and refugee activists have capitalized on the media attention the Park Hotel has received as one of the world's most reputed athletes lodged there shares the space and its sub-standard amenities with vulnerable and dispossessed people.
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However, the World No.1 tennis star now appears to have become a flag-bearer for anti-vaccine groups, including those gathered outside his immigration hotel for support.
Read more: Inside Novak Djokovic's $104-a-night 'hotel hell' amid deportation row
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Meanwhile, in Serbia on Saturday, Novak Djokovic's family held a rally supporting the tennis star, even as PM Ana Brnabic assured them of her government's support over his visa battle. Fans of Djokovic will be hoping that the Serb can enter the Australian Open 2022, which is set to begin on January 17.
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Novak Djokovic is a nine-time Australian Open champion. He has 20 Grand Slam singles titles, a record he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
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Renata Voracova, a 38-year-old Czech doubles player, was detained in the same immigration detention hotel over a COVID-19 vaccine dispute before leaving Australia on Saturday. On Monday, the court hearing will determine whether Djokovic is not far behind her.
