(Bloomberg) — Tennis star Novak Djokovic is awaiting a decision on whether he’ll be allowed to stay in Australia and contest for a record 21st Grand Slam victory.
Australia’s Federal Court wrapped up a hearing challenging the nation’s immigration minister Alex Hawke’s decision to revoke his visa on the basis it was in the public interest to do so. The court will likely indicate its decision to the parties on whether to quash his second visa cancellation later Sunday, with full reasons published at a later date, Chief Justice James Allsop said.
Djokovic re-entered immigration detention on Saturday as his lawyers fight the second attempt to deport him. The government said his presence risks strengthening anti-vaccination sentiment among a minority of the population and creating a public order risk.
“Rightly or wrongly he is perceived to endorse an anti-vaccination view and his presence here is perceived to contribute to that,” Stephen Lloyd, representing the government, told the court Sunday.
Read More: Australia Says Djokovic’s Vaccination Stance Poses a Public Risk
Should his deportation challenge be successful, the no. 1 seed will face fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday night, according to the Australian Open match schedule released Sunday. Djokovic is attempting to win a record 21st Grand Slam singles title.
Djokovic’s lawyers argued Hawke took an “unreasonable approach” to assessing whether his deportation was in the public interest and cited no evidence that his presence may foster anti-vaccination sentiment. The only evidence of protests referring to Djokovic’s were caused by the state canceling his visa the first time, Nick Wood, who’s acting for Djokovic, said in the hearing.
“It doesn’t cohere with common sense” that simply showing up for a tennis match would cause protests, he said. “The anti-vax protests have been directed to action by the state, principally coercive action by the state, or action by the state perceived to have some sort of coercive effect, sometimes called mandatory vaccination.”
Public outrage has dogged the champion since his arrival in Australia following the revelation that he had secured a medical exemption to play in the tournament. That unleashed a wave of public anger in a country that’s endured some of the toughest curbs seen in the pandemic. While Victoria state granted Djokovic the exemption, federal officials overturned his visa on arrival.
An opinion poll published by The Age newspaper on Sunday showed almost three quarters of Australians believe Djokovic should be sent home without playing in the Australian Open. Just 14% said he should be allowed to stay, the poll of 1,607 people showed.
(Updates with Australian Open play schedule from fifth paragraph.)
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