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As the legal sparring got underway, speculation mounted that Djokovic would emerge in public after Federal Circuit Court Judge Anthony Kelly ordered he be temporarily released from detention at a Melbourne hotel to participate in the proceedings. It was not clear where he would be taken.
Djokovic, 34, has been held in the Park Hotel since Thursday after his visa was canceled upon his arrival in the country Wednesday night, when authorities rejected his request for an exemption from Australia’s requirement that visitors be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The world’s top-ranked men’s tennis player appealed the decision, setting up Monday’s showdown.
The high-profile case has captured international headlines by pitting the steely Serb against Australia’s strict pandemic protocols. Djokovic’s family has denounced his treatment, and Serbian and Australian officials have traded criticism. The case has transformed the unvaccinated sports star — already a prominent skeptic of coronavirus vaccines — into a lightning rod for the global vaccination debate.
Djokovic’s attorney, Nick Wood, argued that the tennis player had provided the Australian government with all required documentation and then received a response from the Department of Home Affairs — the very office he is now battling in court — saying his responses indicated he met the requirement of quarantine-free travel.
“What is someone in Mr. Djokovic’s position supposed to understand?” Wood asked. “Any reasonable person would understand, and he did understand, that he had ticked absolutely every box.”
Judge Kelly appeared to agree, noting that there been a “back and forth” of information from various levels of government, and that Djokovic’s medical exemption had been approved by two independent panels of specialists.
“The point that I’m somewhat agitated about is, what more could this man have done,” Kelly asked.
The judge said he was perturbed by the treatment Djokovic received at the airport, saying Australian Border Force officials had “reneged upon” an agreement to let the tennis player speak to his attorneys and tournament organizers.
“The transcript is replete with statements by Mr. Djokovic saying, ‘If you will let me talk to people, though you’ve taken my phone from me, I will try and get you what you want,’” Kelly said, not hiding his exasperation with the government’s handling of the case.
The government then gave a brief outline of its case before the hearing was adjourned for a break. Lawyer Christopher Tran argued that Djokovic’s appeal — including the accusation that the tennis player was pressured to speak without his attorneys or tennis officials — was more of a challenge of the process than the outcome, which ultimately came down to the Australian government’s ability under the law to prohibit someone from entering the country to protect the health of the nation.
“That provision does not present a high bar,” he said.
But Judge Kelly said he had a “reservation” about that argument, suggesting that the government’s treatment of the tennis player should be taken into account.
“Forget this case, take any case,” he said. “If you found that a particular finding of fact or particular reasoning was utterly irrational or unsupportable or illogical, then that would effectively destroy or undermine the ultimate decision.”
The saga began last week when Djokovic, who is seeking to break the record for men’s Grand Slam singles titles, posted on Instagram that he was “heading Down Under with an exemption permission.”
The post sparked outrage in Australia, which has recently seen one of the sharpest spikes of covid infections in the world despite high vaccination rates. When Djokovic arrived at the Melbourne airport, he was detained for eight hours overnight before being transferred to the Park Hotel, where asylum seekers are detained, until his appeal could be decided.
In court documents filed ahead of Monday’s hearing, Djokovic’s attorneys argue his visa was not subject to any vaccination conditions and was improperly canceled. They also say the tennis star believed he had obtained the requisite medical exemption and that Australian immigration officials had signed off on “quarantine-free” entry.
But federal officials insist the exemption — based on Djokovic’s contracting the virus in December, according to court filings — only applied to the tournament and was not sufficient to enter the country.
Even if Djokovic wins his appeal, his path to the Open is not entirely assured. Australia’s government indicated in a submission that if the judge were to quash the visa decision and order Djokovic’s release, that would not necessarily prevent officials from detaining him again if they believe they have the power to do so.
On Sunday, the head of Tennis Australia, which organizes the Australian Open, blamed the situation on “contradictory information” received during months of communication with the federal government.
Djokovic is not the only player caught up in the debacle. After detaining the Serb, the Australian Border Force also launched an investigation into whether others had already entered the country using the same type of medical exemption. Officials then canceled the visas of a foreign official and Czech doubles player Renata Voracova, both of whom have since left the country. Australia’s health minister, Greg Hunt, told reporters the investigation had now finished.
For the past several days, the hotel where Djokovic is being held has become a magnet for an eclectic mix of protesters, including fellow Serbs, tennis fans, anti-vaccine activists and immigration advocates hoping to use the sudden spotlight to focus attention on the asylum seekers.
On Sunday night, there was no sign of the immigration advocates, two of whom had been arrested for climbing a canopy on Thursday.
Instead, the small park opposite the drab, unassuming hotel had become a sea of partying Serbs. Several hundred people sang and danced to Serbian folk songs as a framed photo of Djokovic bobbed above the crowd. Children draped in Serbian flags sat atop their parents’ shoulders as young people sipped beer and rakia — Serbian plum brandy — and smoked cigarettes. A few wore Serbian folk costumes. Almost no one wore a mask.
“It’s a party!” said Natasa Stojkovic, 45, as she and her husband looked on. Despite the festive atmosphere, Stojkovic said Serbians were sad and frustrated over the treatment of their sporting hero.
“Why did they let him on the plane” if they were just going to detain him, she asked, putting the tennis star’s chances of being released on Monday at 50-50.
“This is not an anti-vaccine protest,” Stojkovic said, adding that “everybody” there had already had two doses and a booster. “This is to support Djokovic.”
Cars honked as they drove past the hotel, on which someone had written “torture chamber” in chalk. Children raced around trees and juggled soccer balls even though it was almost 11 p.m. As scores of young people began to interlink their arms and dance in unison, a group waived and shouted at the window where they thought Djokovic was staying. In fact, the tennis star was in another part of the building, unable to see the park, police officers said.
“Novak is not guilty,” said Svetlana Mladjenovic, 64, clad head to toe in Serbian gear.
“The government stuffed it up,” said her 61-year-old husband, Milan, who wore a hat signed by Djokovic. “It’s politics, not sports.”
Like many in the crowd, they said they attended the tournament every year to watch Djokovic.
“But if Novak doesn’t play, I will never come again,” Milan said. “This is big discrimination.”
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