- Novak Djokovic is set to be deported from Australia after government revokes visa for a second time
- Decision comes despite court ruling that tennis star's COVID vaccine exemption is valid
- Australian immigration minister Alex Hawke says he took the decision on "health and good order grounds"
- Djokovic unable to defend his 2020 Australian Open victory
Djokovic to be detained over the weekend
Australian Judge Anthony Kelly and both the immigration minister and Novak Djokovic's legal team returned to the courtroom for a short time to agree the tennis star's detention over the weekend.
This, to prevent him from the possibility of spreading COVID and to allow border officials to interview him, will be in place until Sunday, when Djokovic's lawyers hope to secure a win in the Federal Court, where the case has now been referred.
Andy Murray: 'I'm not going to kick Novak whilst he's down'
The British tennis champion, who earlier defeated Reilly Opelka 6-7 6-4 6-4 to reach the ATP final, was asked about Djokovic at a press conference and said it was "not a good situation" for the sport but refused to make a jab at his rival.
I'm not going to sit here and start kicking Novak whilst he's down. I mean, I said it the other day, it's not a good situation for anyone. It's unfortunate that it's ended up in this sort of situation, and who knows? I don't know what the process is from now. I don't know what route he goes down, if he can appeal that and how long that takes, and can he still be out practicing whilst that process is going on or still competing in the tournament?
He added that it would be "good for everyone" if the case was resolved quickly, saying that it is "not great for tennis, not great for the Australian Open, not great for Novak".
Djokovic's lawyers says case for deportation 'patently irrational'
Nick Wood SC told the court the minister made the decision to revoke his client's visa on the grounds it would excite anti-vaxxers.
He accused immigration minister Alex Hawke of giving no consideration whatsoever as to what the forceable deportation of Djokovic may have on anti-vaccination sentiment, labeling the minister's thinking "patently irrational".
Wood said the challenge is a question of "interferences to be drawn from the minister's reasons" and rationality and perversity in his approach to his decision-making.
Australian government lawyers agree not to detain or deport Djokovic...yet
The tennis champion will not be detained tonight and will not be removed from the country until court proceedings have ended and or have been transferred to another court.
Stephen Lloyd SC - the immigration minister's lawyer - also said Djokovic would not be detained ahead of a meeting with immigration officials tomorrow morning.
Djokovic has not yet been detained
The tennis star's legal team just revealed that Djokovic has not yet been detained.
They also confirmed that he is still due to play his opening match in the Australian Open on Monday, but hit out at the immigration minister's legal team for leaving it until today to make a decision on the visa.
Judge suggests halting Djokovic's deportation until Saturday
Judge Anthony Kelly has expressed concern that Djokovic could once again be detained by border police tomorrow to interview him, despite the ongoing legal challenge to Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's decision to cancel the tennis champion's visa for the second time.
Kelly is suggesting an injunction to halt Djokovic's deportation until at least 4pm tomorrow.
Judge goes through history of Djokovic case
Judge Anthony Kelly is going through the history of the proceedings which concluded with his ruling on Monday.
He said the home affairs minister's lawyer, Christopher Tran, flagged that the Immigration Minister may move to cancel Djokovic's visa again - which has now happened - and that the team kept in touch with the judge about whether this would happen.
He cited the requirement that the case is "inexpensively and efficiently" dealt with and to conclude it "in a timely manner".
WATCH: Court hearing for Djokovic legal challenge begins
The Federal Circuit Court is broadcasting the directions hearing in the challenge brought by Novak Djokovic's lawyers against the Australian government's decision.
Judge Anthony Kelly, who oversaw the initial quashing of the first cancellation, will preside over the hearing, which began moments ago.
As Djokovic faces deportation, Murray celebrates victory
The Scottish tennis champion has beaten X at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Cup final in Sydney - a competition Novak Djokovic announced his withdrawal from last month.
Team Serbia was instead led by a confused world No. 33 Dusan Lajovic, who at the time said he "does not know the reason".
How it started ➡️ How it's going
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2022
12 years after his first final Down Under, @andy_murray does it again in Sydney 👏 #SydneyTennis 🔜 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Delw1eJFNa
Rennae Stubbs says Djokivic's opponents will be 'pumped' by visa decision
Describing the Serbian as "unbeatable" at the Australian Open, former tennis champion Rennae Stubbs told Network 10 that the decision was a "very, very strange moment in the history of the tournament".
With Novak Djokovic's visa cancelled, the #AusOpen is now left without the world number 1. But what does that mean for the competition that is just days away? Former tennis champion @rennaestubbs joins us. pic.twitter.com/Qb4JqIEbmk
— The Project (@theprojecttv) January 14, 2022
WATCH: What does Australian PM think about Djokovic?
Scott Morrison told reporters the first time Novak Djokovic's visa was canceled that "rules are rules" - a line he has repeated since despite an Australian judge ruling that the tennis star had a valid exemption from the COVID vaccine.
But Morrison and his allies have continued to object to Djokovic's stay in the country.
What happens next for Djokovic and will he be forced to leave immediately?
Melbourne-based immigration lawyer Kian Bone said Djokovic's lawyers faced an "extremely difficult" task to get court orders over the weekend to allow the tennis star to compete in the Australian Open.
For Djokovic to get the outcomes he needs to play would be extremely difficult to obtain over the weekend. If you left it any later than [minister Alex Hawke] has done now, I think from a strategic standpoint he's really hamstringing Djokovic's legal team, in terms of what sort of options or remedies he could obtain.
The lawyer told the Associated Press that Djokovic will need to go before a duty judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court or a higher judge of the Federal Court to get two urgent orders if he stands a chance of not being deported.
One order would be an injunction preventing his deportation, like the order he gained last week. The second would order Hawke to grant Djokovic a visa to play in the Open.
What does the Australian government say about Djokovic decision?
It was widely expected that immigration minister Alex Hawke would cut short Novak Djokovic's time in Australia - but why?
The politician - a close ally of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has repeatedly said "rules are rules" when it comes to the tennis star - said his decision was made on "health and good order grounds".
Today I exercised my power under section 133C (3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr. Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.
