SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA), Jan 9 (dpa / EP) –
The judicial appeal of Serbian Novak Djokovic will take place on Monday, after lawyers from the Australian Department of the Interior lost an attempt to delay the day of the appeal hearing.
Internal Affairs attorneys asked the Federal Circuit Court to move the case from Monday to Wednesday, but Judge Anthony Kelly dismissed the request. Delaying the appeal until Wednesday would have meant exceeding the deadline set by the Australian Tennis Federation (Tennis Australia) for inclusion in the next Australian Open, which begins on January 17.
The world’s number one legal team is fighting for his release in order to prepare for and participate in the oceanic ‘Grand Slam’ in Melbourne.
Australian Border Force officials canceled his visa application on Thursday, stating that Djokovic “did not provide adequate evidence to meet Australia’s entry requirements.” Organizers of the Australian Open had granted Djokovic, who is not vaccinated against the coronavirus, a medical exemption, but his fate is now at stake.
According to his lawyers, Djokovic tested positive for COVID-19 in December and was later given the green light to travel to Melbourne. Upon arrival in the country, he was held in an immigration center pending resolution of his case.