(Melbourne) Novak Djokovic on Wednesday attempted to clarify how errors were made on the immigration document submitted upon his arrival in Melbourne last week.
Updated 23:25 yesterday
Since then, his visa has been revoked and reinstated in a saga involving vaccination against COVID-19, on the eve of the Australian Open.
A statement was posted on the world’s No. 1’s Instagram on Wednesday. At the same time, the Serbian was at Rod Laver Arena for training with 20-year-old Australian Tristan Schoolkate.
Defending champion in Australia, Djokovic is in limbo ahead of the start of the first major tournament of the year on Monday.
Djokovic has won a legal battle allowing him to stay in the country, but he may still be deported because he was unvaccinated.
According to reports, he attended events in Serbia last month while he was contagious. He also made errors on a form to enter Australia, which could lead to the cancellation of his visa.
On the form, Djokovic said he had not traveled in the 14 days before his flight to Australia.
Based in Monte Carlo, he was seen in Spain and Serbia, during that two week period.
In a statement posted on Instagram, Djokovic called the speculation “hurtful” and said he wanted to counter the “continuing misinformation” and “allay wider community concerns about my presence in Australia.”
Djokovic claims to have obtained negative rapid tests in the days before a positive test made out of “caution”, because he was asymptomatic.
Regarding the form, he said it was submitted on his behalf by his team. “My agent sincerely apologizes for the administrative error [faite] by checking the wrong box, ”Djokovic wrote.
“It was human error and certainly not deliberate,” he adds.
“The team provided additional information to the Australian government to clarify this issue. ”
The question is whether he will have an exemption from the rules requiring vaccination to enter Australia.
The office of Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said Djokovic’s legal team filed further documents in hopes of preventing a potential cancellation of his visa.