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Novak Djokovic US Open 2021

Novak Djokovic breaks silence from Melbourne immigration detention hotel


Novak Djokovic has spoken for the first time since his arrival in an Australian immigration detention hotel.

Djokovic travelled to Melbourne with the intention of defending his Australian Open crown before being refused entry into the country.

The world number one had not been full vaccination as per Australian Border Force rules and the medical exemption he believed he had was determined to be invalid.

He has since been moved to a hotel in Melbourne while he awaits the verdict of an appeal in court.

Many have spoken for Djokovic since the incident, with his family very vocal and the PTPA issuing a statement.

Now, though, Novak Djokovic has reached out himself.

“Thank you to people around the world for your support,” he wrote on his Instagram story.

“I can feel it and it is greatly appreciated.

“Thank you to my family, to Serbia and to all good people all over the world who are sending me their support. Thank dear God for health”

Djokovic’s family have alleged that Djokovic is “a captive” in Australia, but Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has denied that.

“Mr. Djokovic is not being held captive in Australia,” she told ABC.

“He is free to leave at any time that he chooses to do so and (Australian) Border Force (ABF) will actually facilitate that.”

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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.