Izuchukwu Okosi
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Nine time Australia Open champions Novak Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled and his Australian Open campaign is in tatters.
The tennis star was told to leave the country today but reports suggest his lawyers will challenge the decision in Victoria’s courts.
The world number one touched down on an Emirates flight from Dubai into Melbourne shortly after 11pm Wednesday night AEST.
His father Srdjan reportedly told a Serbian radio station that his son was “isolated in a room” at the airport without his entourage and was being held under police guard.
Srdjan later released an explosive statement to Serbian media.
“I have no idea what’s going on, they’re holding my son captive for five hours,” he said. “This is not a fight for the libertarian world, this is not just a fight for Novak, but a fight for the whole world!
A federal government source told The Age there were issues regarding the documentation required to prove the reason for Djokovic’s exemption, which is required from unvaccinated people.
Djokovic was believed to be relying on the fact that he has had Covid within the past six months however the source said it was unclear if that was sufficient to secure entry under federal guidelines.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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