Djokovic blames aide for error in travel form

World tennis leader Novak Djokovic has blamed an aide for failing to fill out the required travel form for people entering Australia. The statement was made in a post on the athlete’s Instagram.

The Serbian intends to participate in the country’s tennis open, but he is threatened with deportation for failing to comply with health regulations imposed by the pandemic on the movement of people across the Australian border.

Local media outlets reported on Tuesday that the Australian Border Force was investigating possible discrepancies between the traveler form submitted by Djokovic and his whereabouts in the days prior to his arrival in the country.

In the document, the tennis player marked “no” when asked about having traveled in the previous 14 days. But social media posts show he was in Belgrade on Christmas Day and then training in Marbella, Spain on December 31 and January 2.

In his Instagram post, Djokovic also addressed the criticism he has received for having participated in social events even after receiving a positive result for coronavirus in a PCR test.

The tennis player, who is not vaccinated against Covid, claimed to have learned the result of the exam only after participating in a children’s tennis award in Belgrade. However, the next day, the athlete participated in a photo shoot and interview, declaring that he “wouldn’t have wanted to let the journalists down”.

Djokovic says, still in the publication on his social network, that, in retrospect, the decision was “an error in judgment and should have rescheduled this appointment”.

Awaiting a final decision on his participation in the Astralian Open, the Serbian is trying to make up for lost preparation time after being detained for practically five days in an immigration hotel.

This Tuesday, he was filmed and photographed practicing at Rod Laver Arena, in an activity that had a special security scheme. The athlete was also confirmed as the main seed of the event, which will have the draw of his keys on Thursday (13).

The Australian Open starts next Monday (17). Djokovic, who has won the tournament nine times, has a chance to break the men’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles he currently shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard will be present in Melbourne, while the Swiss is still recovering from surgery.