Inside Novak Djokovic’s eight hour interrogation where he was made to sleep on an airport couch

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Novak Djokovic‘s signed affidavit has offered a detailed account of his arduous ordeal during a relentless interrogation by border officials, which left the tennis star ‘upset and confused’.

The star was finally released from detention on Monday night after a judge ruled he should be immediately set free, which saw the tennis champion hit the court within hours to get in some practice before the Open begins on Monday. 

It marked the end of a rollercoaster five days, which began when the world No.1 was made to sleep on a couch in between questioning after touching down in Melbourne about 11.30pm on Wednesday.

He’d already spent 25 hours in transit and was astounded to learn his medical exemption was not considered satisfactory, saying he genuinely believed he had done all that was required to enter Australia.

Djokovic told the court he ‘did not understand what was happening’ or why they would consider cancelling his visa and repeatedly pleaded with officials to allow him time to consult his legal team when they woke up.

His signed affidavit explained he was first alerted that something was amiss as soon as the plane touched down in Australia. Both Djokovic and his team were ordered off the plane and immediately questioned.

Djokovic told the court his passport was seized at this time and never returned. Judge Anthony Kelly ordered it be returned to him no later than 5.46pm Monday following his monumental court win.

By 12.20am, Border Force officials were ready to commence a formal interview with the Serbian star, demanding all documentation relating to the medical exemption.

Djokovic handed over the same documents he’d already provided, including his medical exemption letter from Tennis Australia and correspondence with the Department of Home Affairs indicating he’d met requirements to travel.

‘I was asked whether I had been previously infected by Covid. I told him that I had been infected twice… the most recent occasion being December 2021.’

Djokovic said in his affidavit he was happy to oblige because he recognised that the issue was his vaccination status, and wanted to reassure the officials he’d taken all the precautions to ensure he was fit to travel.

‘That is why I wanted him to see the COVID-PCR test results, but I recall he did not appear to be very interested in these documents,’ Djokovic recalled. 

During the interview, the official left the room on up to eight occasions to seek advice from his superior.

On one such occasion, the 34-year-old tennis star was reprimanded for using his mobile phone while he was alone in the room. He was told to switch off the phone and put it away, and did so.

After a 90 minute interrogation, it was determined there was ‘nothing else Djokovic could provide’ and he was permitted to ‘go into the corridor to rest on the sofa’. 

He was woken about 4am with a document notifying him of the intention to ‘consider cancellation of [his] visa’. 

Djokovic immediately attempted to reason with the officers, telling them that he’d received advice from the Independent State Government medical panel which explicitly stated his recent Covid infection was grounds for exemption. 

‘He told me he was giving me 20 or so minutes to respond, give comments or give any other information that may affect their decision whether to cancel my visa.’

This decision would eventually be the critical reason Djokovic was successful in his appeal on Monday.  

Djokovic claims he pleaded with officials to grant him a reasonable amount of time to consult with his legal team in the morning, and says one officer said he could have until 8.30am.

He again returned to the sofa – assured a bed was being ‘made up for him’ – but was woken again, this time by a superior officer.   

Djokovic’s lawyer Nick Wood claims his client was led to believe it was in his best interests to continue on with the interview process despite having not yet consulted with his team.  

‘That was patently spurious and mischievous,’ he told the court.

‘It plainly was not, and would never have been, better for Mr Djokovic if a visa cancellation decision were made while he was unrested and without consulting with his representatives.’  

After seven hours of stop-start court proceedings on Monday, lawyers for the government admitted Djokovic was not given appropriate time to respond.  

Federal Court Judge Anthony Kelly ordered the tennis world No.1 to be freed from detention at Melbourne’s Park Hotel by no later than 5.46pm on Monday, having already gone to his lawyer’s office to view the hearing.  

The Federal Government agreed to revoke the decision to cancel his visa, meaning Judge Kelly did not even have to rule that the cancellation was unjustified.

At the heart of the case was a procedural error made by the Australian Border Force when officers first stopped Djokovic at the city’s airport last Wednesday evening.  

‘We all play by the same rules… those rules were not observed,’ Judge Kelly said. The message is not all that dissimilar to Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s statement hours after Djokovic was initially given his marching orders. 

‘Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules,’ Mr Morrison said at the time.  

Djokovic explicitly stated in his affidavit he was ‘mentally and physically tired’ and ‘needed rest’, but ‘felt persuaded’ by the officers he dealt with.

He also insists he was never once spoken to about being a risk to the health and safety of the community.

Mr Wood contests that if he were notified of the intention to cancel the visa and given appropriate time to respond, he would have made several submissions which could have prevented the decision.

His lawyers would have argued several key points; including the minuscule or non-existent risk to health he posed if permitted to enter Australia given his reduced risk of reinfection so soon after recovering from the virus and the fact that daily Covid cases in NSW and Victoria were already in the tens of thousands.

They also indicated they would have relied on his ‘long and unproblematic history of visiting Victoria to compete in previous Australian Open’ and the ‘damage such a decision would have on his reputation’.  

Djokovic supporters had high hopes for the case after Judge Kelly said he was ‘agitated’ learning all the steps the world No.1 took to assure he’d be welcome in Australia and free to play his favourite Grand Slam. 

‘A professor and qualified physician provided the applicant a medical exemption, the basis of which was given by an independent expert panel established by the state government… that document was in the hands of the delegate,’ Judge Kelly said.

‘The point I’m somewhat agitated about is, what more could this man have done?’ 

While Djokovic is now free to begin training again and remain in Australia, the debacle has prompted fierce backlash online, with many saying the incompetence of the Australian government has been thrust into the spotlight. 

But the saga could be far from over, with the Minister for Immigration refusing to rule out using his powers to cancel the tennis star’s visa yet again.

Despite there being a four-hour window after Monday’s ruling to make the controversial move, after a judge ordered Djokovic was immediately released, it has since emerged that the minister could opt to use a different set of powers on Tuesday.