Spain Reportedly Probing If Unvaccinated Djokovic Entered Country Illegally Ahead of Melbourne Trip

Despite the visa uncertainty, tennis star Novak Djokovic has been drawn for the first round of the Australian Open, where he will face fellow Serbian player Miomir Kecmanovic.

The Spanish broadcaster COPE has reported that Spain's government is investigating "whether unvaccinated Novak Djokovic entered the country illegally" in late December 2021.

The world's number one tennis player travelled from Serbia to Marbella, Spain, on 31 December and was training in the Spanish city before flying to Melbourne on 5 January to take part in the Australian Open.

The goal of Djokovic's visit to Spain was reportedly to get in some practice at the facilities in the Soho Tennis Academy in Marbella, which uses the same type of court as those at the Australian Open.

Spanish police and immigrations authorities are currently looking into reports that the 34-year-old did not request special permission from the Spanish Embassy or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enter the country unvaccinated.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that he did not have any record of Djokovic travelling to Spain before heading to Australia.

"I have no record of this presence of Djokovic. We have not been contacted by the Australian government to request such documentation", Albares stated.

It was earlier revealed the tennis star ticked "no" on a border declaration form to a question about whether he had travelled within the last 14 days, and on Wednesday, he apologised, arguing that his agent mistakenly ticked the wrong box.

The reported investigation by Spanish authorities comes as Djokovic was included in the draw for the Australian Open despite uncertainty over his visa. The event was delayed without explanation for more than an hour, and the 34-year-old was finally drawn for a first round encounter with fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic.

On Monday, a federal district court in Melbourne overturned Canberra's decision to revoke Djokovic's Australian visa. Judge Anthony Kelly ordered Djokovic to be released within 30 minutes of the ruling and for his passport to be returned.

The unvaccinated tennis star arrived in Australia to participate in the Australian Open, scheduled to start on 17 January in Melbourne, but was detained by migration officers and put in an isolation ward after Australian authorities cancelled his visa, citing violations of the nation's vaccination rules.

In the latest development, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters that a decision had still not been made about the Serb's visa status.

The world's best player also faces a separate probe in Serbia following an interview with the French magazine L'Equipe on 18 December after finding out he was COVID positive on 16 December.

"I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Equipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down, but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photograph was being taken”, Djokovic said, adding that attending the interview was a mistake and he should have been at home in self-isolation.