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Protesters clash with police.
Police used pepper spray on supporters of Novak Djokovic who were surrounded by a car that they believed was carrying the world's top player. (0:41)
12:14 AM
While still facing the prospect of deportation, Novak Djokovic held a practice session at the park on Tuesday, his second day out of jail, to focus on his Australian Open title defense.
The top-ranked Serbian hit the show courts within hours of winning a legal battle against the cancellation of his visa. He returned Tuesday for a closed practice with doors locked and only his support team allowed in.
Less than a week before the first Grand Slam tournament of the year is due to start, aerial images taken by Australian TV networks show the nine-time Australian Open winner back at work.
The Australian Open released its seedings for the tournament, and it showed that the men's top seed was Novak Djokovic.
While he's trying to make up time after spending four days in an immigration detention hotel, he knows he could have his visa revoked again.
The Australian immigration minister is considering using his power to deport the tennis star under separate legislation, which would assess a medical exemption that the unvaccinated Djokovic relied on to fly into Melbourne and the information supplied in the visa application.
The decision was not expected Tuesday after the office of the prime minister said the matter was still under consideration.
The prime ministers of Australia and Serbia talked about the visa situation.
A member of Novak's team talks with him during a Tuesday practice session at Rod Laver Arena. The prime ministers of Australia and Serbia spoke by phone about his visa.
The deportation drama elicited strong support for the 20-time Grand Slam winner in his native Serbia.
Morrison's office said that the prime minister and his Serbian counterpart agreed to keep in touch over the visa issue.
Morrison's office said the PM explained the non-discriminatory border policy and its role in protecting Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. They both agreed to stay in contact.
Morrison was asked by Brnabic to ensure the tennis star was treated with dignity.
The Serbian prime minister emphasized the importance of the conditions for training and physical preparation for the upcoming competition, since Novak Djokovic was not allowed to train in the previous days.
A picture of himself and three of his teammates was posted on social media in the early hours of Tuesday.
I'm happy that the judge overturned my visa cancellation. I want to compete in the Australian Open despite all that has happened. I remain focused on that. I flew here to play in front of the amazing fans.
I'm happy that the judge overturned my visa cancellation. I want to stay and compete in the Australian Open.
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I am focused on that. I flew here to play in front of the amazing fans.
January 10, 2022.
A border official at the airport canceled the visa of the Serbian star hours after he arrived in Australia to play in the tournament.
A judge restored his visa and ordered him to be released from jail on Monday, citing procedural errors by the border officials.
The Victoria state government and Tennis Australia granted a medical exemption for the Serbian player to compete in the tournament because he had been exposed to the disease.
The Australian Border Force refused to allow him an exemption from national vaccine rules.
The vaccine exemption in cases of severe illness caused by the coronaviruses was only granted if there was a previous infection in the previous six months.
The documents released by the Federal Circuit Court revealed that he had not traveled in the 14 days before his flight to Australia.
The question about previous travel was on the Australian Travel Declaration form.
The reigning Australian Open champion was filmed playing tennis in the streets of the Serbian capital, Belgrade, on Dec. 25, and training in Spain on Dec. 31, both within the 14-day window.
Civil penalties are also available for giving false or misleading information.
The officer who canceled the visa noted that Tennis Australia would have been able to facilitate that based on information the visa holder provided.
The Czech tennis player and an unnamed European tennis official have been deported for the same reason since the visa cancellation of Novak Djokovic.
Morrison's conservative government blamed Tennis Australia for the debacle, which they say was caused by misleading players about Australia's vaccine requirements. The Department of Home Affairs was asked by Tennis Australia to check the visa paperwork of players before they boarded planes. The department did not.
The opposition home affairs spokesman, Kristina Keneally, blamed the confusion on a lack of planning by the government.
"If he gets to stay, it will do incredible damage to our border laws and it will be a real insult to the Australians who did the hard work of lockdowns and vaccinations," Keneally said.
Keneally said the saga made Australia look like a joke on the world stage.
The premier of Victoria state said the federal government had changed its border rules recently.
When we talked about exemptions, you would recall that the Minister for Immigration had said that if you weren't double vaxxed, you wouldn't get into the country, whether you're playing tennis or doing anything else,'' said the Minister for Labor.
The Commonwealth government has been letting people in who haven't been double vaxed.
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