World number one Novak Djokovic tried to get a medical exemption to play in the Australian Open because of a positive COVID-19 test on December 16, it has been revealed.
The tennis star was stopped at the border as he tried to enter the country on Thursday morning and was moved to a quarantine hotel in Melbourne, which isn’t the five-star accommodation he will be used to.
The 34-year-old is currently being held in isolation as his appeal to be granted an entry visa won’t be heard until Monday.
However, writer Ben Rothenberg has revealed more details in a series of tweets and it’s pretty damning for the Serbian star if all are true.
On December 16, Djokovic attended a maskless indoor panel event and also attended an indoor ceremony for a stamp being made in his honour, again without masks.
According to Tennis Australia official documents, the deadline for applying for an exemption is December 10.
So, was Djokovic trying to catch the virus just so he could back up his exemption for not being vaccinated?
It all doesn’t add up for the star, who is trying to create history in Australia by claiming his 21st Grand Slam title to overtake his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
It gets worse, on December 17, the day after his positive test, Djokovic attended an award ceremony for children at the Novak Tennis Center – many posts from that event show himself and the children without masks.
Two days after his apparent positive result, he even appeared at a photoshoot with L’Equipe, so if he was already infected, then it doesn’t look good for him.
The player is a role model for millions around the world and it doesn’t show him in the best light.
It’s always seemed to bother the Serbian star that he doesn’t get the love that Federer and Nadal are shown from supporters, but with scandals such as this one, it's probably no surprise he doesn't quite have the same love the Swiss and Spaniard get.
In April 2020, Djokovic revealed that he was “opposed to vaccination,” so there’s been a lot of debate for a while if he’d be able to take part in the Australian Open due to the stringent measures they have.