Novak Djokovic’s hopes of remaining in Australia are hanging by a thread after he blamed his agent for a mistake on his travel declaration and said he made an “error of judgment” by fulfilling an interview commitment in Belgrade after testing positive for Covid-19.
Entry documents submitted on behalf of Djokovic, who is in Melbourne preparing for the defence of his Australian Open title after a judge overturned the cancellation of his visa, stated that he had not travelled for 14 days before entering the country.
However, social media posts suggest he was in Belgrade on Christmas Day before heading to Marbella for a training block. He then flew from Spain to Melbourne, via Dubai, on 4 January.
In an Instagram post intended “to address the continuing misinformation about my activities and attendance at events in December”, Djokovic sought to clarify the discrepancy and allay “broader concern in the community about my presence in Australia”. He said his agent, Elena Cappellaro, mistakenly ticked the wrong box on his declaration form, answering “no” to the question: “Have you travelled, or will you travel, in the 14 days prior to your flight to Australia?”
Reports in Australia suggest that Alex Hawke, the home affairs minister, is on the brink of exercising the discretionary powers he holds under the country’s Migration Act to have Djokovic deported, amid fears that a relaxation of the rules could set a dangerous precedent.
“On the issue of my travel declaration, this was submitted by my support team on my behalf – as I told immigration officials on my arrival – and my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia,” said Djokovic.
“This was a human error and certainly not deliberate. We are living in challenging times in a global pandemic and sometimes these mistakes can occur. Today, my team has provided additional information to the Australian government to clarify this matter.”
Hawke’s office indicated that the submissions would delay a final decision on Djokovic’s eligibility to compete at Melbourne Park, where a successful title defence would take the Serb’s grand slam tally to 21, pulling him clear of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“Mr Djokovic’s lawyers have recently provided lengthy further submissions and supporting documentation said to be relevant to the possible cancellation of Mr Djokovic’s visa,” said the spokesman. “Naturally, this will affect the timeframe for a decision.”
Djokovic’s admission that he broke Covid restrictions in his native Serbia, where a 14-day isolation period is required following a positive diagnosis unless a negative PCR test is recorded, could further undermine his case.
In an affidavit submitted to the federal circuit court as part of his challenge to remain in the country, he stated that he was “tested and diagnosed” with Covid on 16 December, with the result confirmed by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia. The following day, he attended a trophy presentation for junior players at his eponymous tennis centre in Belgrade, while on 18 December he did an interview and photoshoot with the French newspaper L’Equipe.
Djokovic wrote on Instagram that he did not receive notification he had tested positive until after the junior award presentation, but conceded that he knowingly erred in fulfilling his interview commitments the following day.
“I attended a basketball game in Belgrade on 14 December, after which it was reported that a number of people tested positive with Covid-19,” said Djokovic, who spent four days in a Melbourne detention centre before a court ruling reversed the cancellation of his visa.
“Despite having no Covid symptoms, I took a rapid antigen test on 16 December which was negative, and out of an abundance of caution, also took an official and approved PCR test on the same day.
“The next day I attended a tennis event in Belgrade to present awards to children and took a rapid antigen test before going to the event, and it was negative. I was asymptomatic and felt good, and I had not received the notification for a positive PCR test result until after that event.
“The next day, on 18 December I was at my tennis centre in Belgrade to fulfil a long-standing commitment for a L’Equipe interview and photoshoot. I cancelled all other events except for the L’Equipe interview. I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Equipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down, but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photograph was being taken.
“While I went home after the interview to isolate for the required period, on reflection, this was an error of judgement and I accept that I should have rescheduled this commitment.”
Ana Brnabic, the Serbian prime minister, said it was a clear breach of rules if Djokovic persisted with his public engagements after receiving a positive diagnosis. Hawke, meanwhile, has the power to revoke Djokovic’s visa if he deems him a threat to public safety.
Meanwhile, questions remain over apparent irregularities surrounding the positive PCR test that enabled Tennis Australia to grant Djokovic a medical exemption to compete in Melbourne. Scrutiny of the digital QR codes on the 34-year-old’s PCR test by Der Spiegel suggests the results date not from 16 December, as claimed by his legal team, but from 26 December. The German publication concedes, however, that the latter date could indicate when the result was downloaded.
More intriguingly, an initial scan of the QR code for the 16 December test returned a negative result. An hour later, the same code produced a positive result. Neither Djokovic nor Serbian officials had responded to Spiegel’s requests for comment at the time of writing.