Novak Djokovic News: World No.1 drawn against fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic amid deportation saga

Novak Djokovic's battle with the Australian government roars on, with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke set to make a statement on Friday.

But in the meantime, the Serbian star was allowed to take part in the tournament's draw, which was initially delayed by 75 minutes, with a decision about his participation in the event expected to be announced.

Djokovic was drawn against fellow Serbian and world No.78, Miomir Kecmanovic, who managed to reach the second round of the tournament last year.

If Friday's decision does mean that Djokovic can't participate, then fifth seed Andrey Rublev is set to take his place.

However, if Monday's order of play has already been announced by the time Djokovic is forced out, then his spot will be handed to a lucky loser from qualifying.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to comment on Hawke's decision but made a damning statement about the country's vaccination policy, "Where fully-vaccinated eligible visa holders could travel to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption and enter those states, allowing them to enter quarantine-free, the individual has to show they are double vaccinated or must provide acceptable proof that they can't be vaccinated for medical reasons.

More outrage was directed towards the 34-year-old Serbian this week after he admitted to attending an interview just two days after receiving a positive Covid-19 result.

Djokovic addressed the situation: "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 photograph was being taken.

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