Djokovic supporters continue vigil outside of Melbourne detention hotel

Melbourne, January 8

A small group of supporters of detained tennis star Novak Djokovic continued their vigil on Saturday at the Melbourne hotel where the Serbian world-number-one is being held until his visa care can be heard.

A court hearing on his bid to stave off deportation was set for Monday, a week before the season’s first major tennis tournament is set to begin.

The defending Australian Open champion is waiting it out in Melbourne at a secure hotel used by immigration officials to house asylum seekers and refugees.

Some of those held in the facility watched with curiosity from their windows at the smattering of demonstrators.

Djokovic, a vocal skeptic of vaccines, had traveled to Australia after Victoria state authorities granted him a medical exemption to the country’s strict vaccination requirements.

But when he arrived late Wednesday, the Australian Border Force rejected his exemption as invalid and barred him from entering the country. AP