At the end of a long and turbulent day, Novak Djokovic stood where he celebrated his greatest successes.

The 34-year-old tennis star trained with his coach Goran Ivanisevic at the Rod Laver Arena, just seven hours after a court in Melbourne upheld the unvaccinated Serb's objection to the denial of entry to Australia.

“I am satisfied and grateful that the judge has withdrawn the cancellation of my visa.

Regardless of what happened, I want to stay and try to play, ”Djokovic wrote about a photo he shared on social media shortly after midnight (local time).

“That's what I stay focused on.

I flew here to play in one of the biggest events we have and in front of the great fans. "

However, even after this remarkable day with many twists and turns, it is still not clear whether Djokovic will actually be allowed to start at the Australian Open that starts next Monday.

Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke can withdraw his visa again.

At first Hawke did not make use of this right, but he can still do so in the next few days. "The minister is currently working on the case, and this process is still ongoing," said a Hawke spokesman on Monday evening. From the point of view of the authorities, Djokovic was unable to present the necessary documents for a medical exemption when he arrived in Melbourne in order to be able to enter the country without a corona vaccination.

The government had already announced before the negotiation that it would consider further steps to continue to withhold Djokovic's visa if the entry refusal was lifted.

Government attorney Christopher Tran confirmed this at the end of the trial.

Djokovic, who would then face an entry ban in Australia for the next three years, could also appeal again against a renewed denial of the visa.

No inquiries welcome

First of all, Djokovic is allowed to move freely in Melbourne and immediately used this for his first training session on Australian soil. He was allowed to leave the deportation hotel in which he had to stay in the past few days shortly after the trial. In addition, the judge Anthony Kelly ordered that Djokovic get his personal belongings and his passport back.

But even if Djokovic was able to train for the first time late in the evening in the Rod Laver Arena, which he loved so much, many questions remain unanswered. Even a press conference held by his family in the Serbian homeland could not change that. When at the end of the event there were critical questions about why Djokovic showed himself without masks and distance at public events one day after his positive corona test on December 16, 2021, the brother of the world number one simply broke off the press round.

In any case, the family only wanted to portray their famous son as a hero and continue to criticize the Australian government.

"This is his biggest victory in his career, bigger than all of his Grand Slams," said mother Dijana sitting behind a table on which numerous Djokovic trophies were placed.

"He will win ten more Grand Slams," announced Father Srdjan full-bodied.

The legal dispute over the entry visa will give the son "additional strength".

"He's so mentally strong that none of this has affected him."

A stress test for the government

In Melbourne, too, Djokovic received great support from his Serbian compatriots. In front of the building on Collins Street in the center of Melbourne, where Djokovic and his lawyers had gathered for the online court meeting, conditions in some cases were chaotic after the verdict was pronounced. Thousands of Djokovic supporters had come with Serbia flags to support their idol. When people pressed a car to leave the underground car park, the police officers even used pepper spray.

Judge Kelly had previously stated at the hearing that he considered the behavior of the authorities towards Djokovic to be disproportionate. "What more could this man have done?", Kelly had said. However, the judge justified his verdict primarily with the fact that Djokovic had not been given enough time to react appropriately to the hour-long questioning by the border guards the refusal of entry of the unvaccinated Djokovic because of insufficient evidence for a medical exemption was fundamentally legal, the judge did not decide on that.

And so there are still many questions a week before the start of the Australian Open.

Even if Djokovic achieved an important victory in the Commonwealth Law Courts Building on Monday, the way to his tenth triumph in the metropolis on the Yarra River is far from clear.

The case has long since become a severe stress test for the Australian government.

That too could play an important role in the decision of the Minister for Immigration.

It is therefore still possible that the training session on Monday around midnight was his last in Melbourne this year.