Luxury perks ruled out for Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic demanded ­access to his chef and a tennis court while in immigration custody in Melbourne as the Serbian government rallied to his side.

Pro-Djokovic protesters gather outside the Melbourne hotel on Friday where the world No.1 is holed up after having his visa cancelled. Picture: AFP

Novak Djokovic demanded ­access to his chef and a tennis court while in immigration custody in Melbourne as the Serbian government rallied to his side, urging that he be moved to ­accommodation “befitting the best sportsman” on the planet.

But the world No.1, detained since his visa was cancelled for breaching Covid vaccination rules, will have to make do with the $109-a-night Park Hotel in Carlton, where he is cooling his heels alongside remanded asylum-seekers who rate the in-house fare as “maggoty bullshit”. Australian Border Force officials flatly rejected Djokovic’s requests, explaining there would be no special treatment. Gluten intolerant and fastidious about his diet, the lanky 34-year-old had wanted his personal chef to prepare all meals.

He needed to train for the Australian Open, he explained, because there was still a chance he could take his place when the tournament starts on Monday week. Djokovic asked to be transferred to the luxurious rented home with a tennis court that was to have been his base. He would pay for private guards.

The answer was still no.

The visa controversy deepened on Friday with the ABC reporting Renata Voracova, a female tennis player from the Czech Republic, had also been detained by Border Force in the same hotel as Djokovic. She entered Australia last month after receiving a Tennis Australia vaccine exemption, but it was reported she had been ­informed by ABF officials she must leave the country. In Belgrade, Australian ­ambassador Daniel Emery was hauled in by the Serbian Foreign Minister, Nemanja Starovic, to press Djokovic’s case for better treatment. In a statement on Friday, Mr Starovic said there was a “strong sense in the Serbian public” that the country’s favourite son had been victimised and ­humiliated in Australia.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic also weighed in with a personal attack on Scott Morrison. Rejecting the Prime Minister’s insistence that “rules are rules” and Australia’s entry requirement of being double-vaxxed for Covid would not be waived for anyone, Mr Vucic said: “What is not fair play is the political witch hunt, by everybody including the Australian Prime Minister, pretending that the rules apply to all.”

Pointing out that Friday was the Orthodox Christmas celebrated by Serbs, Mr Starovic said: “We expect that the ambassador personally takes action for (Djokovic) to be moved to accommodation befitting the best sportsman in the world, not a criminal or an illegal immigrant.”

Srdan Djokovic, Novak’s father, at a rally in Serbia. Picture: Getty Images

He said Serbia did not seek to influence the Australian government, but in the spirit of the season Djokovic should be allowed to spend the holiday in better accommodation. His wife, Jelena, agreed. Thanking her husband’s supporters around the world for “using your voice to send love to my husband,” she said: “We wish we were all together today, but my consolation is that at least we are healthy. We will grow from this experience.”

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said he was free to leave the country at any time. “I think we have always been clear that Mr Djokovic will be treated the same as everyone else in similar circumstances,” she said.

His slim hopes of competing for a 10th Australian Open title and breaking the tie with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most grand slam wins hinge on whether a judge can be persuaded to free him pending his application for judicial review of the deportation order, lawyers versed in the field say.

Such an application for temporary injunctive relief by Djokovic’s legal team is certain to be opposed by the federal government. But leading Melbourne lawyer Justin Quill said the champion Serb still had a “pretty good chance” of playing in the Australian Open.

“(It’s likely) he will be allowed to stay in the country, compete in the Australian Open and then the lawyers will argue about this in the weeks and months to follow,” Mr Quill said.

Amid ongoing recriminations about how Djokovic was issued a visa to enter Australia – on the basis of an “exemption” granted by Tennis Australia and ticked off by Victorian government experts – Acting Premier Jacinta Allan said the state government was not copied in on correspondence from federal Health Minister Greg Hunt to TA in November warning the waiver would not apply to anyone who was unvaccinated. “I can confirm people who contracted Covid-19 within the past six months and seek to enter Australia from overseas, and have not received two doses of a TGA-approved vaccine or TGA-recognised vaccine, are not considered fully vaccinated,” Mr Hunt told TA boss Craig Tiley.

Djokovic’s wife Jelena. Picture: AFP

Djokovic was told by Australian Border Force officials on his arrival in Melbourne that the visa was to be revoked because he could not produce medical evidence to prove he had been exempted from the immunisation requirement. He is seeking a judicial review of this in the Federal Circuit and Family Court, with the case due to resume next week.

The question is, did TA share Mr Hunt’s advice with the state authorities? “I am advised that Victorian government officials were not aware and had not seen that correspondence,” Ms Allan said on Friday.

The state government panel which assessed medical exemptions was an independent entity, she said, and the dispensation allowed Djokovic only to participate in the Open, not enter the country. “The role of the panel was to assess the medical documentation not to assess their eligibility for a visa,” she said.

For the second day running, noisy Djokovic fans gathered outside the Park Hotel to protest his treatment, monitored by a contingent of police. He also found an unlikely ally in Australian player Nick Kyrgios, who voiced sympathy for Djokovic despite having previously called him a “tool”.

“Look I definitely believe in taking action, I got vaccinated because of others and for my mum’s health,” Kyrgios tweeted.

“But how we are handling Novak’s situation is bad, really bad. Like these memes, headlines, this is one of our great champions but at the end of the day, he is human. Do better.” Ms Andrews confirmed Border Force was looking at others who had travelled in similar circumstances to Djokovic for the Open.

“We do have the intelligence to indicate there are some individuals here now that have not met the entry requirements and we have to investigate that,” she told the Nine Network.

Ms Andrews did not say how many players were being investigated. She said anyone entering Australia had to show evidence of vaccination or medical reasons why they were not vaccinated.

Former Australian Open tournament director Paul McNamee said Djokovic had not been treated fairly.