Lawyers claim prior Covid-19 infection means Novak Djokovic can compete at Australian Open
In a court filing, lawyers have claimed that Novak Djokovic contracted Covid-19 in December and has not shown any symptoms within the past 72 hours, therefore believing he should be allowed to compete at the Australian Open.
20-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic travelled to Australia at the start of this week believing he had a medical exemption that would allow him to compete for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
It is believed that Djokovic had received written clearance from Australia’s immigration department before travelling Down Under.
However, World number one Djokovic was detained upon his arrival at the border as his medical exemption was deemed invalid and his visa was subsequently cancelled, meaning he faced the possibility of deportation.
Djokovic has been allowed to stay in Australia with an injunction and is being kept in an immigration hotel as he fights the case in Australian court, with the hearing set to take place on Monday.
It was revealed yesterday that Tennis Australia sent a letter to players that suggested they may be granted a medical exemption to play if they could prove they contracted Covid-19 within the past six months.
However, this did not allow for entry into the country after Tennis Australia apparently contradicted the Australian Government’s rules regarding entry.
In a court filing submitted by Djokovic’s legal team, the filing said “the date of the first positive Covid PCR test was recorded on December 16, 2021.
“[Djokovic] hadn’t had a fever or respiratory symptoms of Covid-19 in the last 72 hours (14 days after testing positive).”
The court filing documents added that on January 1st Djokovic received “a document from the Department of Home Affairs (which) told Mr. Djokovic that his ‘responses indicate(d) that (he met) the requirements for a quarantine-free arrival into Australia.”
Djokovic has continually refused to publicly share his Covid-19 vaccination status, but has made it clear in the past that he is against vaccine mandates.
The Australian Border Force has confirmed several other players have had their visas cancelled, including Czech player Renata Veracova.
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