The height of recklessness? Djokovic admitted that he gave an interview with knowledge of the contagion. He faces fines in Serbia, jail in Australia

The Australian Open starts on Monday and it is still uncertain whether Novak Djokovic will play or not. What is certain is that the situation around him is not calming down, quite the opposite.

The tennis world number one still has no certain participation in the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic can train and prepare for the first grand slam of the year, but his start should be decided in the next few hours.

But it cannot be said that he is increasingly likely to participate. The more the tournament and the final decision on its start are approaching, the more doubts and negatives in connection with the Serbian tennis player are surfacing.

Earlier in the week, it was reported that Djokovic, at a time when he was supposed to be in isolation due to a coronavirus infection, was going merrily about among the people. But that is not the end of the doubts.

In official documents, the Serb claims that he hasn’t travelled anywhere in the past two weeks, however, according to social media, that’s not exactly true.

25. in December, Djokovic was captured on the streets of Belgrade, and at the end of the year he was training in Spain for a change. He then arrived in Australia on January 5, 11 days after he was spotted in the Serbian capital.

If Djokovic is indeed proven to have lied in his statements, he could risk jail time. In Australia, a similar offence carries a prison sentence of up to one year.

On Wednesday, the Serb commented on the situation. He denied taking part in any public events in December, saying it was misinformation and he had done everything he could to ensure everyone’s safety.

“On December 14, I attended a basketball game in Belgrade, after which many people tested positive. I underwent an antigen test, which came out negative. But because there were more people testing positive, I also underwent a PCR test,” Djokovic said in a statement on Instagram.

The following day, he attended an event with children at the base of the negative antigen and presented prizes to them. He was asymptomatic, feeling fine. However, he soon learned of the positive PCR test result.

18. december, however, violated the quarantine rules. “I was at my tennis centre in Belgrade to attend a scheduled photo shoot and interview for l’Equipe. I didn’t want to disappoint the journalists. I made sure not to approach anyone, except for the photo shoot itself, I was wearing a veil,” Djokovic admitted.

Immediately after arriving home, he said he realised he had made a mistake. Beyond that, however, Djokovic apologized for a clerical error made by his agent in filling out the form. It was supposed to be an unintentional and human error influenced by the busy pandemic period.

Djokovic does not plan to make further statements.

However, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic responded to the Serb’s statement. According to her, Djokovic faces heavy sanctions if he violates the ordered measures, as he himself admitted to doing.

Source: Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, Twitter, iSport.com