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Djokovic Admits False Statement on Australia Travel Document

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The tennis star also said he had participated in an interview and a photo shoot even after testing positive for the coronavirus, in an apparent violation of rules in his native Serbia.
Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men’s tennis player, acknowledged on Wednesday that a travel document he presented to Australian border officials last week contained false information, as the country’s authorities continued to investigate whether he should be deported. Mr. Djokovic also said that he had participated in an interview and a photo shoot last month in his native Serbia even after testing positive for the coronavirus, in an apparent breach of the country’s rules for infected people. Australian officials have said they are looking into whether Mr. Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, poses a risk to public health. The tennis star’s comments came in a statement he released on social media that he said was intended to “clarify misinformation” about the weeks before he arrived in Melbourne for the Australian Open. He was detained for days by Australian border officials before being ordered released on Monday by a federal judge. But Mr. Djokovic’s statement did not fully resolve a range of questions that have swirled over his quest to remain in Australia and seek a record 21st Grand Slam title. Among them are exactly when he learned of the positive test result and how his travel documents came to falsely assert that he had not traveled internationally in the 14 days before his arrival in Australia. The statement posted on Instagram, which Mr. Djokovic said would be his last remarks about his ordeal in Australia, was released as the country’s immigration minister said he was still considering whether to exercise his personal powers to cancel the player’s visa again. Immigration officials were also investigating the discrepancies in the paperwork Mr. Djokovic presented as he tried to enter Australia last week with an exemption from a requirement for Covid-19 vaccinations. Australian tennis officials granted that exemption on the basis of what Mr.

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