Djokovic participated in the Australian Open raffle as visa decision blurs Tennis news

The delayed draw for the tournament will feature a first-place male player whose visa can still be revoked a second time.

Novak Djokovic, the world’s best men’s tennis player, is in the official draw for the Australian Open, although there is still uncertainty as to whether the government will revoke his visa a second time.

Australian Immigration Secretary Alex Hawke is considering using his discretion to revoke Djokovic’s visa because he is concerned about a tennis player’s medical exemption from Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

The draw was held on Thursday at 4.15pm Melbourne time (05.15 GMT).

The original draw was scheduled an hour and 15 minutes earlier, but several minutes after it was scheduled to begin, it was announced that it had been postponed for the time being.

Djokovic, who was training at Rod Laver Arena earlier on Thursday, pulled out-of-series Serb Miomir Kecmanovic on his opening round, which will be played on Monday or Tuesday.

Rafael Nadal finished in the same half, which means he could meet Djokovic in the semi-finals.

Vaccine chief Djokovic caused widespread anger in Australia last week when he announced he was on his way to the Melbourne Australian Open to receive a medical exemption from visitors ’requirements to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Upon his arrival, Australian Border Force authorities ruled that his release was invalid and he was held alongside asylum seekers in a migrant detention hotel for several days.

On Monday, the court allowed him to stay on the grounds that the authorities had been “unreasonable” in the way they handled his interview in the seven-hour process in the middle of the night.

The Australian government, which has received strong support in its home country for its strong stance on border security before and during the pandemic, must now decide whether to allow Djokovic to stay and apply for the record 21st championship.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to comment on Djokovic’s visa on Thursday.

Djokovic’s case was not helped by an error in his entry declaration, which ticked the box stating that he had not traveled abroad for two weeks before leaving for Australia.

In fact, he had gone to Spain from Serbia. Djokovic, 34, blamed his mistake on his agent and admitted that he should also have transferred the interview and photography to a French newspaper in December during the COVID-19 infection.

Fans, including many Australian Serbs, loudly supported him when he was arrested, people opposed to vaccinations have considered him a hero and his family have portrayed him as an defender of individual rights.

But Djokovic may face crowd hostility if and when he walks out on the field.

There is widespread anger at the saga among Australians, who have a 90 percent vaccination rate among adults, and they are fighting a wave of Omicron variants while enduring some of the world’s longest restrictions to curb a pandemic.

“I don’t like his arrogance,” Teyhan Ismain, who lives in Melbourne, said Wednesday. “Looks like he’s also told a few fibs. So I think he should probably go back.”

There may also be bitterness in the locker room where all but three of the top 100 male players are vaccinated.

Tennis player Martina Navratilova told Australian television that Djokovic should “suck it” and return home.

“The action is that sometimes your personal beliefs have to be overcome with what is good for the great good, those around you and your peers,” he told Seven’s Sunrise. “You have two options, take the vaccine or don’t play.”