Novak Djokovic has learned the day of his first-round match at this year’s Australian Open, should he remain in the country
Defending champion Novak Djokovic has been scheduled to start his Australian Open campaign on Monday, despite facing a Sunday court hearing on his right to remain in the country.
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke intervened to cancel Djokovic’s visa on Friday, triggering another appeal from the tennis star’s legal team for him to stay in Melbourne.
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After a late-night court hearing, it was determined that Djokovic will not be detained on Friday night but will be in the custody of immigration officials from Saturday morning ahead of his new case scheduled for a federal court on Sunday.
The developments have cast major doubt on Djokovic’s ability to defend his Australian Open title when the main draw gets underway next week.
Djokovic could have been handed some extra breathing space by organizers if his first-round meeting with fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic had been scheduled for Tuesday.
However, it was confirmed that the top half of the draw – including top seed Djokovic – would be in action on the opening day of the tournament at Melbourne Park on Monday.