Novak Djokovic has found himself surrounded by controversy and intrigue. A federal judge overturned his visa’s cancelation by the Australian government. However, new evidence came to light on the internet.

It seemed to show that Djokovic had been extremely careless regarding health and safety regulations. It came in the form of pictures in which Djokovic was with children at a 16 December event last year.

In fact, people are considering this quite damning for the Serbian. Since his medical team had built their entire case around him contracting the coronavirus on the 16th of December itself, it didn’t paint Novak Djokovic in a good light to be at public events while knowing himself to be positive with the illness.

Novak Djokovic sends out a clarifying statement

Thus, the Serbian star took to Instagram to give out a clarifying statement around the pictures, as well as the matter of his Australian visa.

He wished to “address the continuing misinformation” about his attendance at events during December. Moreover, Djokovic stated that he sought to correct this misinformation “in the interest of alleviating broader concern” in Australia, where the populace has not been too happy about an unvaccinated player being within their borders, especially with cases on the rise again.

Djokovic emphasized that he has tried very hard to ensure everybody’s safety. Then, he mentioned that he attended a basketball game in Belgrade on the 14th, where many people later reported to be positive for the virus. Thus, he too took a test for the same. However, the test came out negative.

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In fact, Djokovic, “out of an abundance of caution”, even went the extra mile and took an RT-PCR test. Subsequently, even the second test came out negative, relieving the Serbian. Then, he addresses the event for which he is being chastised over the internet- meeting children on the 16th.

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According to him, he took another rapid test (negative) before attending the event, and “felt good”. Alas, it was only after the event that he received the notification of the test being positive.

Hindsight is 20/20 for Djokovic

Despite knowing himself to be positive for the virus, Djokovic went ahead with an interview on the 18th of December. He justified this interview by calling it a “long-standing commitment.”

“On reflection, this was an error of judgment,” Djokovic admitted. He further stated that he should have rescheduled the commitment. Finally, he addressed the issue of his visa mix-up, which was also the cause for much confusion.

“My agent sincerely apologizes for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box,” Djokovic stated in his Instagram statement. “This was a human error,” he explained. Furthermore, he explained how “sometimes these mistakes can occur”, especially with the challenging times the world is going through.

In the end, the 9-time Australian Open champion talked about the Grand Slam itself. He expressed how the major is “much-loved by players, fans and the community” all over the world. Per his statement, Novak Djokovic wants to “compete against the best players in the world” at the Australian Open.

In fact, he also appreciated the Australian crowd, describing them as “one of the best crowds in the world.” Do you think Novak Djokovic will play the Australian Open?

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