Novak Djokovic's pictures show him at PR event a day after testing COVID positive: Report

Amidst the fiasco involving Novak Djokovic's detention at the Australian airport, shocking reports have emerged that contain unverified images of him attending a PR event in December, a day after his lawyers claimed he had tested positive for COVID.

As per the images, he was attending a young players event in Belgrade on December 17 without a mask.

Novak Djokovic was reportedly at a PR event without a mask

According to the court filings, Novak Djokovic tested positive for COVID on December 16, which was more than three weeks before arriving in Australia. Since then the Serbian has not reported fever or any other respiratory symptoms. However, there was no prior information of the 34-year old testing positive for the virus in December.

The court filing read, "Mr Djokovic had received, on 30 December 2021, a letter from the Chief Medical Officer of Tennis Australia ('Exemption Certificate') recording that he had been provided with a 'Medical exemption from COVID vaccination' on the ground that he had recently recovered from COVID. The date of the first positive COVID PCR test was recorded on 16 December 2021, it had now been 14 days, and Mr Djokovic had not had a fever or respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 72 hours."

However, the Belgrade tennis federation put up a Facebook post after the December 17 ceremony where they posted unverified images of Djokovic handing out cups and awards to the best young players in 2021. As per the federation statement, the event held at the Novak tennis centre was attended only by the award winners "due to epidemiological measures related to the coronavirus pandemic."

Meanwhile, Djokovic was detained by the Australian Border Force after landing in Melbourne on Wednesday because of some irregularities in his visa application. It was reported that the 34-year old's team had applied for the incorrect type of visa for a person who had a medical exemption. The Australian Border Force later said that the 20-time Grand Slam champion's visa was cancelled after he failed to provide appropriate evidence to prove why he was granted the exemption. It is believed that the world number one is currently housed at an immigration hotel and is awaiting the court's decision.