A new blow for Novak, this time from Australian Open: He will be in trouble even if he wins in court

Photo: AP/Tanjug

Novak Djokovic has found himself in an unenviable situation in Australia for the umpteenth time, but now the tournament itself, the Australian Open, is creating hurdles for him by announcing that the Serbian will have to play as soon as on Monday, although he has a court date just the day before.

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Technically, Novak Djokovic does not know himself if he will be able to play, and if he is disqualified, the whole draw will have to change.

With this decision, the Australian Open is clearly showing that they either already know something about the decision, or have decided to take a risk and put themselves in an awkward situation before the start of the tournament...

The top halves of the #AusOpen men’s and women’s singles draws will be played on Monday.— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2022

It is time for a small recap of today's events, that is, of everything that has been happening since early morning Serbian time.

Djokovic's visa was revoked, for the second time, so everything went downhill. Our tennis player's legal team reacted swiftly and they showed up again before Judge Anthony Kelly very quickly.

Before Judge Kelly - the same person who annulled the previous decision to abolish the visa for our tennis player - Novak's legal representatives, led by Nicholas Wood, vigorously challenged Minister Crowe's decision, calling it "irrational" because the arguments for revoking the visa again are completely contrary to to those presented by a border service official after Novak's arrival in Melbourne.

The debate lasted an houru and a half, while a new hearing is scheduled for 8 am Australian time, or 10 pm Central European time, where Novak himself will be present. Until then, the Serbian tennis player will probably be staying in the old place, the "horror hotel" called "Park Hotel."

Djokovic: Gov has proposed the tennis No.1 be detained tomorrow at 8am, escorted by ABF officers to his lawyers' office tomorrow, and then taken back into detention on midday— Maddison Connaughton (@madconnaughton) January 14, 2022

Stephen Lloyd, secretary at the Ministry of Immigration, who attended the hearing, suggested that Djokovic should be detained until tomorrow morning before his interview at 8 am, that is, that border guards should escort him to his lawyer's office and take him into immigration detention - until the final decision on Sunday.

However, Lloyd was opposed by Novak's representatives, who said this would further waste Novak's time before the tournament itself, which starts only a day after his court appearance.

(Telegraf.rs)