Australian Open: Novak Djokovic’s visa cancelled for the second time

World No 1 Novak Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled for the second time, the government announced on Friday. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said in a statement that he acted on “health and good order grounds.”

Djokovic, who is not vaccinated against Covid-19 but had sought a medical exemption, had earlier won an appeal in the court to overturn the visa cancellation on arrival in Australia.

Djokovic now faces deportation while AFP reported that the cancellation means Djokovic would be barred from a new Australian visa for three years, except under certain circumstances.

Here’s the statement from the immigration minister Alex Hawke:

Here’s the full statement: pic.twitter.com/heCDYUCM1B

— Karen Sweeney (@karenlsweeney) January 14, 2022

In the days since Djokovic won the court case, the Australian government was still pondering whether to cancel the visa of the unvaccinated Serb for a second time. The 34-year-old flew into Melbourne claiming a vaccine exemption because of a positive Covid test in mid-December, but border officials rejected that, his visa was revoked and he was moved to a detention centre.

Djokovic’s legal team overturned that in court, freeing the top seed to begin his disrupted preparations for a tournament in which he has not lost a match since 2018. The Australian government could yet deport him…

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