Australian court orders Djokovic's release

Novak Djokovic scored an important point in the diplomatic battle in Australia over his presence there for the Melbourne Open. In this sense, an Australian court ordered the release of the Serbian tennis player, who was being held in a hotel for immigrants after seeing his visa revoked because it had not been confirmed that he had been vaccinated against COVID-19, a condition required by the authorities to enter the country, except in some particular cases. 

Judge Anthony Kelly ordered the Australian government to grant Djokovic freedom of movement, as well as to return his passport and personal belongings and to pay the court costs of the proceedings. Judge Kelly argued that the visa revocation measure was "unreasonable" and noted that if Djokovic had had more time and more details about his situation he could have responded better to his situation on Australian soil which led him to the Park Hotel in Melbourne where he was being held while awaiting clarification of his personal situation. 

This step taken by the Australian justice allows Djokovic to play the Australian Open and continue fighting to be the tennis player with more Grand Slams in the world surpassing the Swiss Roger Federer and the Spanish Rafa Nadal. The Balkan tennis player is looking for what would be his 21st major tournament on the men's tennis circuit. 

In any case, the story is not over because Australia's Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has special prerogatives to deport Djokovic or any other immigrant under Australian law. In addition, the Australian government has lodged an appeal against Judge Anthony Kelly's decision.

The Australian Government requires travellers and foreigners entering the country to have completed the COVID-19 vaccination schedule or a medical exemption related to a number of exemptions, such as cardiac issues, for example. Djokovic was initially allowed to enter Australia on the basis of certain medical exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination requirements, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in the wake of the uproar, announced that Novak Djokovic's visa would be withdrawn for subsequent deportation because he could not prove that he had been vaccinated against the coronavirus and his personal situation was not entirely clear. Djokovic's lawyers argued that the player followed all the immigration steps he believed necessary to enter Australia, although, after the controversy generated, the Australian authorities decided to deport Djokovic until this latest judicial response. 

Now, in principle, Novak Djokovic will be able to fight for what would be his tenth Australian Open in Melbourne and continue fighting to be the tennis player with the most Grand Slams. 

Meanwhile, as the EFE news agency pointed out, Australia is currently experiencing its worst wave of COVID-19; on Monday the Australian nation reached one million cumulative infections since the start of the pandemic, almost half of them recorded since the beginning of this year due to the strong impact of the omicron variant.