Novak Djokovic live stream problems see coverage of key court hearing drop out
A court hearing in Melbourne will decide whether the Serbian will be able to defend his title in Melbourne
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Your support makes all the difference.The court hearing that will decide Novak Djokovic's Australian Open participation was beset with technical difficulties on Monday.
The nine-time champion in Melbourne is making a case for his entry to the country after his visa was revoked on his arrival at the city's airport on Thursday last week.
But the hearing between a judge and two sets of legal representatives was unable to be watched by the general public for long periods after too many viewers attempted to log on to the virtual proceedings.
The Serb claims that a recent Covid infection qualified him for the medical exemption from the country's requirement for all visitors to be double vaccinated.
The Australian government, however, say non-citizens had no right of guaranteed entry to Australia and stressed that even if Djokovic wins his case, it reserved the right to detain him again and remove him from the country.
The hearing in the Federal Circuit and Family Court began around 10.30am on Monday morning after Judge Anthony Kelly refused a request by the government to delay the hearing until Wednesday.
Djokovic, the world number one, is hoping to win a record 21st Grand Slam at the Australian Open, which starts on 17 January.
But instead of training, the Serbian player has been confined in a hotel used for asylum seekers and is challenging the decision to cancel his visa after being stopped on arrival at Melbourne Airport.
Former British number one Andy Murray has expressed concern for the Serbian and says his predicament is “really not good for tennis at all”.
“I think everyone is shocked by it, to be honest,” five-time Australian Open finalist Murray told reporters in Australia.
“I’m going to say two things on it just now. The first thing is that I hope that Novak is OK. I know him well, and I’ve always had a good relationship with him and I hope that he’s OK.
“The second thing, it’s really not good for tennis at all, and I don’t think it’s good for anyone involved. I think it’s really bad.”
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