Court documents show Djokovic had COVID-19 last month

By JOHN PYE
AP Sports Writer

Lawyers for Novak Djokovic have filed court documents in his challenge against deportation from Australia that showed the tennis star contracted COVID-19 in the middle of last month. The No. 1-ranked Djokovic was denied entry at the Melbourne airport late Wednesday after the Australian Border Force canceled his visa for failing to meet its entry requirement that all non-citizens be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Djokovic was given a medical exemption on Jan. 1 based on his recent infection and it was backed by the Victoria state government and Australian Open organizers based on information he supplied to two independent medical panels. Djokovic is in an immigration detention hotel in Melbourne preparing for his challenge in the Federal Circuit Court on Monday.