Novak Djokovic is still in Australia after the Federal Court overturned the decision to cancel his Visa.

But it will only be some time in the next 12 hours that he, and the world, will know if he is free to compete in the first Grand Slam event of the year starting next week.

That will be in the gift of the Australian Minister for Immigration who may choose to revoke the Visa again under a separate set of powers.

The ruling that freed him to choose his own accommodation was issued this morning based on the technicality that immigration officials had not allowed him enough time to question the initial cancellation of the visa.

Outside of that though the fervour that surrounds the case has been anything but dry and technical.

Evidence has been brought forward of Djokovic undertaking public appearances without any mask or obvious social distancing 24 hours after he said he had tested positive on December 16th.

When this was raised at a press conference being held in Belgrade by his family, they ended the media briefing without answering any questions on that.

They had earlier spoken of Djokovic being tortured and harassed, and that the judge’s decision was “a victory for the free world.”

His Father also said that “Obviously the fact that he comes from a small and impoverished country was not something that big powerful people like, and they thought they had god-given powers.”

A touch over the top perhaps?

Then again this has been that way for the past week as the Champion’s right to be unvaccinated, and still to play in the tournament has polarised opinion.

Alex Hawke is the Minister who now has the unenviable task of making a call, by which his political legacy will be defined.

The popular mood seems to be that he should be deported, that he should be treated no differently to any other citizen who does not abide by the regulations laid down by a country that has been strong in terms of its policy on snap lockdowns and closed borders.

It is about a lot more than one tennis players right to choose his own path on health, but it always was when he became a symbol of hope to those who do not believe in vaccination, and one of anger to those, the vast majority, who do.

If he stays and plays the crowd cam will be the one that everyone will be watching in his first round encounter.

 

“A powerful and influential network of information and collaboration”

 

Download our latest membership brochure here.

Sport for Business Partners