BELGRADE —
Novak Djokovic, whose lawyers said Saturday
he was given an
Australian Open COVID-19 vaccine exemption for testing positive
on December 16, was at a young players event in Belgrade the following day,
without a mask.
اضافة اعلان
In a filing to the federal court seeking to overturn his
entry visa cancellation his lawyers said that the "date of the first
positive
COVID PCR test was recorded on 16 December 2021".
The Belgrade tennis federation, in a Facebook post after the
December 17 ceremony, reported that Djokovic had handed over cups and awards to
best young players in 2021.
The event, held at the Novak tennis center in the Serbian
capital, was attended only by the award winners "due to epidemiological
measures related to the coronavirus pandemic", said the federation
statement.
It was accompanied with several photos of Djokovic, posing
with the federation's officials and some 20 young players holding cups and
awards.
No one was wearing a mask.
At the ceremony, the federation head Milan Slavkovic
presented Djokovic with an Orthodox icon for "all he has done for tennis
and sports in general, for all achievements and generosity he is making every
day throughout the planet", the statement said.
The event was widely reported in the Serbian media.
Djokovic attended another gathering on December 16, when the
Serbia national postal service honored him by launching a series of stamps
featuring him and his sports achievements.
He published a photo from the ceremony on Instagram on
December 17.
Australian border agents tore up Djokovic's entry visa for
failing to meet the country's tough COVID-19 vaccine requirements when he
landed in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old Serb, an outspoken vaccine skeptic, was
placed in a Melbourne detention center.
He will have his appeal heard in court on Monday.
The world number one has also requested to be moved to a
facility where he can train for the Australian Open, his lawyers said.
Djokovic will have his appeal heard in court on
Monday.
Foreigners are still mostly banned from travel to Australia,
and those granted entry must be fully vaccinated or have a medical
exemption.
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