Novak Djokovic has returned to the tennis court after winning a legal battle in Australia that overturned his visa cancellation.
“I’m pleased and grateful,” the unvaccinated tennis star tweeted after midnight local time, alongside a picture of himself back in training.
“Justice has won and the rule of law has won,” his father told the media
Djokovic’s lawyers argued in court that the visa cancellation at Melbourne airport last week was unreasonable and the judge agreed.
But Australia’s immigration minister still has powers to re-cancel the reinstated visa and deport the tennis player.
The Australian Open begins on 17 January and if Djokovic wins, he will become the most successful men’s player in history.
Press conference begins – Djokovic’s father says rule of law won. At the Djokovic family press conference which held in Serbia on Monday afternoon, Djokovic’s father Srdan thanked people for attending the press conference and said the occasion was to celebrate the tennis player’s victory.
“At the end he won, justice has won and the rule of law has won,” he said.
His mother Dijana was thankful as well, to everyone at home and abroad. “I want to thank everyone in the world who who stood up and supported him in Melbourne in front of that so-called hotel,” Dijana Djokovic says – a reference to the immigration hotel where Novak was briefly held.
“This is his biggest win in his career, it is bigger than any Grand Slam,” she said. “He has done nothing wrong, he hasn’t broken any of their laws. He has been subject to harassment. “He fought against the system and the government because he had the right to be there. “Never before have we faced a situation like this,” she added.
Dijana said it was not possible to contact her son at times and she wasn’t sure what was happening.
Djokovic’s brother Djordje thanked the judge who ruled in the case for, Djordje saying, looking into the story “seriously” and “analysing every fact,” “We as a family found it very difficult, we are very emotional about my brother. It’s very difficult to defend Novak and not to offend anyone at the same time.
“We are fighters for justice and rule of law. We have done everything we could to follow procedures and to show everyone in the world we need to send love to Novak. Djordje added that his brother had already been back on the court to train on Monday.
He said; “Novak is free. A few minutes ago, he trained on a tennis court. He came to Australia to play tennis, to try and win another Australian Open.
“He has been branded in different ways for many years and he has always supported freedom of choice,” he says. He said his brother went to Australia to compete and win the trophy and break the record he has been chasing for so many years. He said Novak had all the documents required of him, including a medical exemption, when he travelled to Australia.
Family Refused To Answer Questions on Novak’s COVID-19 positive PCR
The Djokovic family faced a flurry of questions from the press about the player testing positive for COVID-19 on December 16 and attending events in the days that followed.
Djokovic is under scrutiny after legal documents showed he tested positive for COVID-19 on 16 December, yet still attended indoor public gatherings, including one with a large group of children, in the days that followed.
Asked about his actions, the player’s family did not respond, instead announcing that the press conference was adjourned. The conference ended with the family linking arms and singing a song with patriotic lyrics: “I am coming from Serbia, never leaving it.”
Asked if the family have a message for Australia, Novak Djokovic’s brother Djordje sayid they have “nothing but love” for the country.
“We have just pure love for all of the world,” he said “We love Australia, Novak loves Australia, he’s won it so many times, we will keep on coming back,” he added.
He confirmed that his brother will not be joining the press conference via video link, as had been suggested earlier, because he is on a tennis court in Melbourne. BBC
