An Australian judge has agreed to delay any effort to deport Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic to late Monday, as his court case is underway in Melbourne. With minutes to go before a previous court order expired, the tennis star won another temporary reprieve from Judge Anthony Kelly, this time until 8pm local time (0900 GMT) on Monday, NDTV reported.
Government lawyers had earlier signaled they would be willing to delay the deportation order, which is hanging over the Serb as he seeks to remain in the country.
Djokovic landed in Australia last Wednesday with hopes to defend his Australian Open crown and win an unprecedented 21st Grand Slam title.
Instead of a grand welcome, Djokovic was questioned at the airport overnight before having his visa revoked and being transferred to a Melbourne immigration detention facility pending deportation.
The unvaccinated champion player was deemed to have not provided adequate proof of a medical exemption.
The case is set to return to court later Monday.
