The Covid test result that allowed Novak Djokovic to enter Australia may have been manipulated to return a positive reading, a news investigation has claimed.
Djokovic, 34, is now preparing to defend the Australian Open after a federal court overruled the government's decision to cancel the controversial tennis star's visa.
His entry as an unvaccinated player has been questioned by World No. 38 Marton Fucsovics, who accused the Serbian of skirting the rules to play in the Grand Slam.
Djokovic was told he could fly into Melbourne on the basis he tested positive to the virus in Serbia on December 16 and then negative six days later.
But German news site Der Spiegel claims when it entered the code for Djokovic's December 16 test into the official Serbian health database at 1.19pm on Monday, the result came back negative.
An hour later at 2.33pm, the scan returned a positive result.
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Novak Djokovic with his wife Jelena. A new report has claimed the Covid test result that allowed him to enter Australia may have been manipulated to give a positive reading
A negative result would have invalidated Djokovic's claim to enter Australia on a temporary working visa for the tournament.
His positive test result has also been called into question by a discrepancy in the identification numbers used for every test.
The German investigation found Djokovic's December 16 test result had the ID number 7371999, but his negative result on December 22 was 7320919 - 50,000 spaces lower.
Researchers claimed the mismatched identification numbers showed Djokovic may actually have tested negative on December 16 and then positive six days later.
Such a result would have also made the Serbian ineligible to enter Australia on the grounds he had recently contracted and recovered from the virus.
Fucsovics this week fired a shot at Djokovic over his decision not to get vaccinated, declaring the 34-year-old was 'finding a way around rules'.
'People's health is paramount, and there are rules that were outlined months ago, namely that everyone should vaccinate themselves — and Djokovic didn't,' Fucsovics said.
A German news site claims when it entered the code for Djokovic's December 16 test into the official Serbian database at 1.19pm on Monday, the result came back negative (left) and then positive about an hour later (right)
'From this point of view, I don’t think he would have the right to be here.'
British tennis legend Andy Murray on Tuesday said there are still 'a few questions to be answered' by Djokovic over his visa debacle.
'There are still a few questions that need to be answered around the isolation and stuff, which I'm sure we'll hear from him in the next few days, but I’m obviously here to try and play and win tournaments,' he said.
'He won in court, which is good. Looks like he’s going to be able to play and compete in the Australian Open, which we do want the best players there, but like I said, I think there is still a few questions to be answered.'
Djokovic's mother has also opened up about the Australian Open visa exemption debacle - and claimed he 'didn't know' he was infected with Covid-19 while pictured attending public events in Serbia last month.
Dijana Djokovic claims her son 'didn't know' he had Covid while attending events in the following days, despite court documents confirming the positive PCR test.
Photos show the tennis star hugging children
