Novak Djokovic admits he didn’t isolate after positive COVID test as Australian Open scrutiny intensifies

Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open drama doesn’t appear to be getting close to an end with the tennis star now admitting he did not immediately isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 last month.

Questions had begun to mount over the validity of his Dec. 16 test amid discrepancies in the PCR report and public appearances he made int he days following the alleged positive.

In a statement posted to his Instagram, Djokovic admitted that he did not reschedule an interview he had with a journalist in December after testing positive on a PCR test.

“I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Equipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down, but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photo was being taken,” Djokovic wrote.

“While I went home after the interview to isolate for the required period, on reflection, this was an error of judgment and I accept that I should have rescheduled this commitment.”

The journalist for L’Equipe, a French sports publication, was not informed before, during or after the interview that Djokovic had tested positive, per CNN.

The information comes as Djokovic is under scrutiny over his entry into Australia for next week’s Australian Open. The 20-time Grand Slam winner requested a vaccine exemption to enter the country — based on having COVID within the past six months — but had his visa revoked upon arrival and spent the weekend isolating in a hotel with his immigration status in limbo.

An Australian judge reinstated his visa and allowed him to travel to the site of the Australian Open, but now government officials are investigating issues with his positive PCR report in December, which were filed in court. CNN and German publication Der Spiegel both reported seeing both positive and negative results when accessing the data retroactively.

It’s still unclear whether or not these issues will impact Djokovic’s ability to remain in Australia and play in the season’s first Grand Slam.

Djokovic needs one more Grand Slam victory to pass Rafael Nadal, who is also playing in the event, and Roger Federer for most all-time. He has won the last three Australian Opens and eight of the last 11.