MELBOURNE, Australia — The day started with a website crash and
ended with the stunning release of the world's number one tennis player into
Australia after nearly five days of detention.
اضافة اعلان
As viewers around the world tuned in to a
much-anticipated livestream of
Novak Djokovic's visa appeal hearing early
Monday, they met the same fate the tennis star faced at Melbourne's airport
last week — being denied entry — as the site crashed.
It was perhaps a fitting twist in a saga
that has rolled on since Wednesday, with the Serbian holed up in a notorious
Melbourne immigration detention center on
COVID-19 health grounds rather than
training for a record 21st Grand Slam.
Hours later, the hearing was abruptly
restarted by Judge Anthony Kelly, who reinstated the Serbian superstar's visa
and ordered his release from detention — a decision that only prolongs what has
become a humiliating global news event for the
Australian government.
The online hearing — eventually streamed on
YouTube — drew tens of thousands of viewers.
Djokovic watched proceedings with his
barristers in Melbourne as the twists and turns kept coming throughout the day.
Outside Melbourne's federal court, dozens of
Djokovic fans and anti-vaccine mandate protesters waved flags and placards as
journalists scrambled to report on the hearing.
Chants of "Nole!" — Djokovic's
nickname — and "let him play!" rang out back at the court as the
buoyant crowd, some holding umbrellas with anti-vaccine slogans, continued
their song and dance routine in the Melbourne heat.
Djokovic delight
The tennis star was released to the delight
of his team, devoted nationalist supporters and anti-vaxxers who had rallied
for him in recent days.
After his victory, police officers and
private security guards descended on his lawyers' offices.
If he is not detained again, he will be able
to enjoy the freedoms that his supporters believe befitting of his status.
"He deserves 5-star accom and his
private chef now!" read one placard held aloft by a Djokovic supporter
outside the former Park hotel, where the player was held.
The Australian government has one last card
up its sleeve: the immigration minister reserves the right to intervene and ban
him again on different grounds.
But the day seemed to be ending without the
resolution that Canberra so desperately wanted, and with Djokovic's supporters
in Melbourne's Fed Square still cheering devotedly into the night.
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