(Belgrade) The results of the PCR tests presented by tennis world number 1 Novak Djokovic in order to obtain a waiver to participate in the Australian Open in January were “valid”, the Serbian prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. from an investigation.
Posted at 2:01 p.m.
After having initially obtained an exemption to come to Australia, thanks to these tests certifying that he had contracted COVID-19 a month before the tournament, the Serb, who was not vaccinated, was finally expelled, after 10 days of judicial soap opera, by the Australian government before the start of the tournament because of the “health risk” that it could represent.
According to a test that the holder of 20 Grand Slam titles, including nine at the Australian Open, provided to Australian authorities, Djokovic tested positive for COVID-19 on December 16. Another test carried out on December 22 was negative.
But the validity of these tests has been questioned by some media, including the BBC, because of their serial numbers, namely that that of December 22 was lower than that of December 16.
“It was established by an analysis of the digital database […] that Novak Djokovic has been tested several times and that the certificates of these tests of December 16 and December 22, 2021 are valid, ”says the prosecution in a press release, adding that these checks were carried out by the Ministry of Health.
Djokovic had however participated on December 17 in an event with young tennis players in Belgrade and even accepted an interview on December 18 with the French sports daily The Team.
He assured that he only received the notification of the positive PCR after the meeting of December 17 and recognized “an error of judgment” in relation to the interview.
The Australian Open, where he aspired to get his 21stand Grand Slam title, were won by the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who seized the record for Major titles on his own by winning his 21and major title, ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer who have twenty each.
Since returning to Serbia on January 17, Djokovic has kept a low profile, appearing only a few times in public, without making statements.
He is expected to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday and speak briefly to the press.