Novak Djokovic: Serbia PM wants tennis star moved from Australian refugee hotel

Serbian prime minister says world no 1 should stay in a house with a tennis court

Supporters of Novak Djokovic hold Serbian flags outside a hotel in Melbourne where the tennis star was taken pending a verdict on his potential deportation. Getty

Serbia has waded into the furore surrounding its star tennis player Novak Djokovic to demand that he be moved from immigration detention to a home where he can train for the Australian Open.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the country would “stand by Novak” and claimed the world number one had been “treated differently” compared to other players who were allowed to enter Australia.

Djokovic, 34, was denied entry to Australia on arrival at Melbourne, after border officials rejected his medical exemption from the country’s strict entry rules.

A vaccine sceptic, Djokovic has refused to say whether he is inoculated against Covid-19.

Ms Brnabic told Sky News she had urged every Serbian to get vaccinated but would not argue with Djokovic personally.

She said she could not understand why Djokovic’s medical exemption had been denied, but said Serbia’s priority was to get him moved from the secure hotel for asylum seekers and refugees in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton, where he was taken on Thursday morning.

“What is important to me right now is that Novak is not in the hostel for migration, that he is allowed to be in isolation until the final decision is made,” she said.

“That he’s allowed to stay in a place of residence, in a house which he rented, where he will be allowed also to train, so a house with a tennis court. He could actually be in isolation and respect all of Australia’s rules. That is all we are asking for right now.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier rejected the suggestion that Djokovic was being singled out. The player’s parents have alleged a political agenda behind the hold-up.

A court agreed not to deport Djokovic before a full hearing scheduled for Monday, leaving him holed up in the quarantine hotel where there have been allegations of sub-standard food provided to refugees.

Mr Morrison acknowledged that other players may have entered the country with the same kind of medical exemption.

He said Djokovic may have talked himself into trouble by revealing that he was relying on such an exemption before travelling to Australia.

“One of the things the Border Force does is they act on intelligence to direct their attention to potential arrivals,” Mr Morrison said.

“When you get people making public statements about what they say they have, and they’re going to do, they draw significant attention to themselves.”

The suggestion that Djokovic could get a waiver from the rules had sparked anger from Australians living under strict travel curbs.

If Djokovic misses the Australian Open, he will lose a chance to move ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the most prolific Grand Slam winner in men’s tennis. Each has won 20 Grand Slam titles.

In 2020, Djokovic and his wife Jelena Djokovic tested positive for Covid-19, after a series of exhibition matches he organised with no social distancing or masks.