Novak Djokovic's father accuses Australian officials of holding tennis star captive in airport after visa issues
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Updated 05/01/2022 at 20:04 GMT
Novak Djokovic has reportedly been inside Melbourne Airport for six hours without members of his entourage or a mobile phone. The 20-time Grand Slam winner, who is the defending Australian Open champion, received an exemption from tournament organisers despite his apparent unvaccinated status, though a member of his team has applied for a visa that does not allow entry under such circumstances.
Novak Djokovic
Image credit: Getty Images
Novak Djokovic's father has accused Australian authorities of holding the 20-time Grand Slam champion "captive".
Djokovic has been inside Melbourne Airport since landing in Australia on Wednesday, January 5, reportedly inside a room without members of his accompanying entourage and without a mobile phone.
Officials are questioning Djokovic after a member of his team filled out the wrong visa ahead of entry to the country.
The visa applied for does not allow a medical exemption of the kind that the Serbian has received to compete at the Australian Open as an unvaccinated player.
And his father, who remains in Europe, has now suggested that protests may be imminent if Djokovic is not released.
"I have no idea what is going on," Djokovic's father, Srdjan, told Serbian media. "They have been holding my son captive for five hours.
"If they don't let him go in half an hour, we will gather on the street.
"This is a fight for everyone."
Djokovic's coach, former Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic, posted a photo on Instagram from the airport several hours after the party arrived in the country, captioning it: "Not the most usual trip Down Under."
All players and staff at the Australian Open must be vaccinated or have an exemption granted due to strict border control rules in the state of Victoria.
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Victorian state government officials have said that they refuse to formally support Djokovic's application for a visa, and it remains unclear why the Serbian, who is the defending champion at the first Grand Slam on the tennis calendar, has received an exemption.
Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, has urged Djokovic to provide "acceptable proof that he cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons."
Morrison continued: “If that evidence is insufficient, then he won’t be treated any different to anyone else and he’ll be on the next plane home,"
"There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all. None whatsoever.”
The Australian Open is due to begin on January 17.
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