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By Emmanuel Adeleke
Serbian tennis player, Novak Djokovic, has been granted a visa to participate in the Australian Open in January, 2023.
Djokovic, was deported from Australia in the build up to the 2022 edition of the tournament in January after he declined to be vaccinated.
The former world No. 1 was originally barred from the country till 2025.
According to a Australian broadcast station, ABC, Immigration Minister, Andrew Giles, had overturned Djokovic’s ban, allowing to compete in 2023.
Australian Open tournament director, Craig Tiley, had earlier said that Djokovic would be welcome in January if he could get a visa, adding that Tennis Australia was unable to lobby on his behalf.
In July, Australia scrapped a rule that required international travellers to declare their COVID vaccination status.
Djokovic had in October said he had received “positive signs” about the efforts to overturn his ban.