'Maskless' Novak Djokovic attended public gathering on December 17, a day after he tested positive for COVID-19

Novak Djokovic at an event a day after testing positive for COVID-19 (Source: Facebook)

Serbian World No 1 Novak Djokovic continues to fight his case in Melbourne after being denied entry to Australia due to a visa confusion despite getting the vaccine exemption from the Australian Open authorities. 

There has been a new twist added to the whole episode when on Saturday, Djokovic's lawyer submitted in the federal court that exemption was seeked because the tennis player had come in contact with the virus on December 16. 

"I explained that I had been recently infected with COVID in December 2021 and on this basis I was entitled to a medical exemption in accordance with Australian Government rules and guidance," Djokovic said in the filing about his experience being detained at Melbourne Airport.

"Djokovic returned his first positive COVID-19 test on December 16 but by December 30 "had not had a fever or respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 72 hours", the filing further says. 

However, on December 17, the athlete was seen distributing prizes at a young players event in Belgrade. 

If he had tested positive on December 16, what was he doing at an event, where no one was wearing a mask, on December 17, is a big question. 

The Belgrade Tennis Association had even posted pictures of the event on their Facebook page which was attended only by the prize winners.

Here's the post:

As per AFP, Djokovic attended another event on December. It was when the Serbia national postal service honoured him by launching a series of stamps featuring him and his sports achievements.

The ongoing drama in Australia has become a political issue now. 

Serbia government is saying Australia is treating Djokovic as a prisoner. It has also become a flashpoint for opponents of vaccine mandates around the world. His filing, ahead of a court hearing on Monday over his visa cancellation, says Djokovic had received the exemption from tournament organiser Tennis Australia, with a follow-up letter from the Department of Home Affairs saying he was allowed into the country.