Australian TV anchors on hot mic curse Djokovic, who appears to admit breaking coronavirus isolation rules

The foul-mouthed conversation, apparently recorded as they prepared for a nightly news bulletin on Tuesday, was not intended for public viewing. Seven, the TV network, said Wednesday it has launched an investigation into how a “private conversation between two colleagues” was leaked.

The video comes as Djokovic appeared to admit to breaking Serbia’s coronavirus management policies by meeting a journalist for an interview in December, while he was supposed to be isolating after testing positive for the coronavirus.

But unlike some viral newsreader gaffes, the response among viewers was largely positive as it underscored a growing sense of frustration about how the tennis fiasco has played out, against the backdrop of Australia’s worst coronavirus outbreak.

In the video, TV anchors Mike Amor and Rebecca Maddern questioned apparent mistakes on Djokovic’s visa application and made personal attacks on the world’s top-ranked men’s tennis player. The question of whether the 20-time Grand Slam champion can remain in Australia, which requires foreign visitors to be vaccinated or have a valid medical exemption, is still open.

Djokovic had been detained by border authorities Thursday, but a federal judge ordered his release on Monday. The government is still considering using extraordinary powers to cancel the athlete’s visa and deport him. Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, had been given a medical exemption from the tournament and Victoria state to participate in the Open on the basis that he’d contracted the virus in December. But that exemption wasn’t valid for entering the country, federal officials said.

In the footage aired Wednesday, Maddern questioned the truthfulness of some of Djokovic’s statements, describing him as “sneaky,” among other things. She also blasted him using an expletive, to Amor’s agreement. Maddern later apologized.

Djokovic also apologized Wednesday for making a mistake on an Australian immigration document. In a statement on Instagram, he said his agent mistakenly ticked a box on a travel declaration form saying he had not traveled in the two weeks before arriving in Australia.

The controversy now also extends to whether the Serbian star left isolation without permission. Documents presented in an Australian court showed that the 34-year-old tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec. 16. On Dec. 17, however, he was photographed at an event honoring young tennis players in Belgrade.

In a timeline posted on Instagram on Wednesday, the athlete said he had taken a rapid antigen test before the Belgrade event and the result was negative. “I was asymptomatic and felt good, and I had not received the notification of a positive PCR test result until after that event,” he wrote.

The next day, Dec. 18, he said he canceled all events except a “long-standing commitment” — a photo shoot with French sports newspaper L’Équipe, indicating he knew he was positive ahead of the meeting.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić told the BBC that if Djokovic went out knowing he had tested positive for the virus, it would be a “clear breach” of the country’s 14-day isolation rule.

“I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Équipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down,” Djokovic said, adding that he socially distanced and wore a mask except when his photo was being taken. On reflection, he said, “this was an error of judgment.”

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