Novak Djokovic: A Timeline Of His Australian Open Saga And COVID-19

Novak Djokovic on Wednesday put up a lengthy post on Instagram to address "continuing misinformation" about what he was up to before travelling to Australia.

However, the defending Australian Open champion seems to have put himself in more trouble after contradicting his sworn affidavit to an Australian Federal Court.

According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Australian immigration officials are now investigating several errors and discrepancies relating to the tennis star's COVID-19 tests and travel.

Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is considering cancelling Djokovic's visa on the grounds that the unvaccinated Serb poses a public health risk.

Hawke can also cancel Djokovic's visa on character grounds.

To make matters worse for Djokovic, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told the BBC that Djokovic may have breached Serbian rules if he knew that he tested positive for COVID-19.

The penalty for breaching Serbian health regulations is a three-year prison sentence.

Here is a timeline of the saga so far

What We Know About Djokovic's Australia Saga

This is a timeline through Djokovic's court affidavit, media reports and his social media posts.

November 18, 2021: Djokovic receives an Australian temporary entry visa.

December 16, 2021: Djokovic tests positive for COVID-19 according to a court filing

December 16, 2021: The 34-year-old attends an event where the Serbian National Postal Service unveiled a stamp in his honour

December 17, 2021: Djokovic attends a tennis event in Belgrade to present awards to children.

December 18, 2021: Djokovic takes part in an interview and photoshoot with French newspaper L'Equipe despite knowing he was positive for COVID-19.

December 22, 2021: Djokovic tests negative for COVID-19

December 25, 2021: Djokovic pictured in Belgrade with handball player Petar Djordjic.

December 30, 2021: Djokovic receives a medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination from a Medical Exemptions Review Panel of the Victorian State Government

January 1, 2022: Djokovic authorises his agent to submit his Australia Travel Declaration to the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. He receives an email from the Department of Home Affairs stating that he met the requirements for quarantine-free arrival.

January 2, 2022: Djokovic receives Border Travel Permit from the Victorian State Government.

January 4-5, 2022: Djokovic flies from Spain to Melbourne.

January 6, 2022: Djokovic's visa cancelled by Australian Border Force

January 10, 2022: Australian Federal Circuit Court quashes Australian government's decision to cancel his visa

January 11, 2022: Djokovic begins practising at the Rod Laver Arena ahead of his title defence.

Djokovic's affidavit can be viewed here.

What Djokovic Said In His Instagram Post

December 14, 2021: Djokovic attends basketball game in Belgrade and comes in contact with people who tested positive for Covid-19.

December 16, 2021: Djokovic takes a rapid antigen test which comes back negative and takes an RT-PCR test

December 17, 2021: Djokovic takes a rapid antigen test and tests negative and attends a tennis event in Belgrade to present awards to children. Djokovic receives positive report from RT-PCR test via email.

December 18, 2021: Djokovic takes part in an interview and photoshoot with French newspaper L'Equipe despite knowing he was positive for COVID-19.

What Are The Discrepancies In Djokovic's Statements?

In his affidavit, Djokovic said he received the COVID-19 positive test on December 16. The medical exemption provided by the Chief Medical Officer of Tennis Australia also states that Djokovic tested positive on December 16. However, the Serb claimed in his Instagram post that he received the report only on December 17.

In his Australian Travel Declaration, Djokovic stated that he did not travel 14 days prior to his arrival in Australia from Spain despite evidence of the contrary.

On Wednesday, Djokovic admitted to the error and claimed that his agent ticked the incorrect box in the declaration.

The German news organisation Der Spiegel claimed in a report that it scanned the QR code belonging to Djokovic's PCR test at 1.19 pm German time on January 10, 2022 and received a negative report. However, an hour later it received a positive report.

Der Spiegel also claimed that the timestamp in Djokovic's positive digital report indicated that the result could have been from December 26, 2021 and not December 16. However, social media users pointed out that the timestamp can refer to the time the document was downloaded and not when it was reported.

Der Spiegel also reported that based on the two RT-PCR test reports submitted by Djokovic, the negative test result was possibly generated before the positive test result.

BOOM cross-checked the test results submitted by Djokovic and found that Djokovic's positive test result had the confirmation code 7371999 while his negative test result has the code 7320919.

Der Spiegel admit that there is a possibility that the positive test report was uploaded after the negative test report on the Serbian data base. It added that neither Djokovic nor Serbian authorities responded to questions sent by them.