AUSTRALIA.- The Australian Immigration Minister, Andrew Giles, decided that Novak Djokovic can if he wishes, apply for a visa to participate in the championship that takes place in Melbourne, as confirmed by a government source, who asks not to be identified as not authorized to speak to the press.
The Serbian tennis player, who is looking to win his 22nd Grand Slam – and draw with the Spanish Rafael Nadal – still needs to sign his participation in the Australian tournament, where he has won nine times.
Djokovic was deported by the Australian authorities in mid-January of this year, shortly before the start of the Australian Open, when he tried to enter the country with a medical exemption to play the tournament, the first major of the season, without being vaccinated.
Upon arrival in the country, the Australian Government, then in the hands of the Liberal-National coalition, detained him at the airport for questioning the validity of that exemption and tried to expel the athlete for violating measures against COVID-19, which at that time required travelers to have the full virus vaccine schedule or a valid receipt.
