Australian Open preps continue as champion Novak Djokovic awaits fate

Australian Open preparations continued on Friday at Melbourne Park as defending men's champion Novak Djokovic awaited his fate in a Melbourne detention hotel. Djokovic had traveled to Australia after Victoria state authorities granted him a medical exemption to the country's strict vaccination requirements.

But the Australian Border Force rejected his exemption as invalid and barred him from entering the country. A court hearing on his bid to stave off deportation was set for Monday, a week before the season's first major tennis tournament is set to begin. A small group of supporters of tennis star Novak Djokovic held a protest on Friday outside the Melbourne hotel.