Novak Djokovic's family abruptly ended a press conference when asked if the tennis star attended a charity event and mingled with children immediately after receiving a positive Covid result.
A court overturned the visa cancellation for the Serbian world no.1 on Monday, with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke now consdering whether to invoke special powers to deport Djokovic before the Australian Open.
His family, who held consecutive days of rallies in Belgrade to show support for the 34-year-old, held a press conference on Monday answering questions from journalists including the controversy surrounding his December 16 PCR result.
Images have emerged of Djokovic at a tennis academy event for the Novak Djokovic Foundation in Serbia with dozens of children, mingling and embracing several of the young players on December 16 - the same day he received his result.
On December 17, Djokovic attended an event with the Serbian Post Office, accepting a stamp with his face on it and shaking hands with officials while maskless.
Novak Djokovic 's family confirmed the tennis star attended a charity event and mingled with children after receiving the positive Covid result in an awkward press conference
Documents from the Institute of Public Health in Serbia confirmed Djokovic returned a positive Covid result on December 16, before attending a charity event with children and a presentation to accept a stamp with his face on it
On December 16, Djokovic (pictured centre at the back) posed with dozens of children at a PR event with the Tennis Association of Belgrade, the day after the purported positive PCR test
When asked if he had attended the events knowingly positive, Djokovic's younger brother Djordje confirmed the information was 'public' before abruptly ending the press conference.
'Is it true that on the 16th of December he tested positive and he knew he was positive with Covid?' a reporter asked the family.
'Yes, the whole process was public and all the documents that are public are legal,' Djordje replied.
'Was he at an event on the 17th of Dec?' a woman then enquired.
'Okay so uh this press conference is adjourned,' Djordje said through a grin as the family left the podium.
Djokovic had used the result to justify his exemption from being vaccinated upon entry in Australia, a claim that was eventually dismissed given ATAGI do not recognise a recent infection as fully-vaccinated
has finally begun his Australian Open campaign, hitting the courts at Melbourne's Rod Laver arena for a late night training session immediately after being freed from five days of immigration detention.
But whether he'll even be in Australia when the tournament starts next week was in question overnight, with the Minister for Immigration refusing to rule out using his powers to cancel the 20-time Grand Slam winner's visa yet again.
Despite there being a four-hour window after Monday's ruling to make the controversial move, after a judge ordered Djokovic was immediately released, it has since emerged that the minister could opt to use a different set of powers on Tuesday.
After days of uncertainty, the tennis legend broke his silence over the Australian government's failed attempt to cancel his visa, saying he still wants to compete at the Australian Open next week.
'I'm pleased and grateful that the judge overturned my visa cancellation. Despite all that has happened, I want to stay and try to compete,' he said on Twitter, alongside a picture of himself practicing late on Monday night.
'I remain focused on that. I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the amazing fans.'
Serbia's Novak Djokovic still doesn't know for certain if he will be allowed to stay in Australia to play in the Australian Open (pictured after winning last year's tournament in Melbourne) despite a judge ruling in his favour and ordering his immediate release on Monday evening
Novak Djokovic is still in limbo as immigration minister refuses to rule out cancelling his visa - but posted this picture of himself practicing at Rod Laver area just hours after he was finally released from detention after a five-day-long ordeal
Djokovic's family said in a press conference in Serbia that he had returned to training on the tennis court and the 'rule of law has won'.
His mother Dijana said her son 'suffered torture' at the hands of Australian immigration officials, while his father Srdjan said Djokovic had his 'human rights taken away', and that he had been denied contact with friends, his team or his lawyers during the ordeal.
'At the end he won, justice has won and the rule of law has won,' Srdjan said.
Djokovic's brother Djordje said the family found the situation 'very difficult'.
'We are very emotional about my brother. It's difficult to defend Novak and not to offend anyone at the same time.
Fans became increasingly agitated when their hero failed to emerge from his lawyers' office - before it became clear he had somehow snuck out undetected
'We are fighters for justice and rule of law and we have done everything we could to follow procedures.'
The comments from Djokovic and his family came after a night of violence involving his supporters on Melbourne's streets, days of legal confusion and endless political posturing.
But Djokovic still doesn't know for certain if he can compete in the Australian Open and nor does anyone else, least of all it seems, the Australian government.
The world's number one ranked tennis player was detained by Australian immigration officials upon arrival at Melbourne Airport last Wednesday night and his life has been in limbo ever since in a case that has made headlines around the world.
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic's (pictured left to right) uncle Goran, mother Dijana, father Srdjan and brother Djordje hold a press conference in Belgrade on Monday night - saying the tennis champion had his 'human rights taken away'
Members of the Serbian community (pictured) are seen marching through Melbourne on Monday night, with the scene soon becoming violent as protesters crashed with police - leading to many being pepper-sprayed
Djokovic's visa for Australia was cancelled due to an apparent issue with his Covid vaccination exemption, and he was held in a cheap hotel under an immigration detention order while he waited for his appeal to be held on Monday.
Then after five days of chaotic bureaucracy and finger pointing between the Australian federal government, the Victorian state government, the Serbian government and Tennis Australia, a court overturned the cancellation of his visa.
This led to wild celebrations from an army of fans who had gathered at the Djokovic's lawyer Paul Holdenson's office, with many of the supporters waving Serbian flags to honour their fellow countryman.
A member of the press (pictured) lies on the ground after sustaining an injury during clashes between the Serbian Community and Victorian Police officers in Melbourne on Monday
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic's mother Dijana (pictured left) and father Srdjan (pictured right) held a press conference in Belgrade on Monday night, saying the player had been 'tortured'
But the celebrations turned violent when a car with tinted windows thought to contain Djokovic emerged from his lawyer's car park.
It's not known if he was even in the vehicle, but many of his supporters were convinced he was and that he'd been arrested - leading them to try and stop the car by laying their bodies in the road.
Some began spitting and
