Novak Djokovic told ‘just go home’ by tennis legend: 'Do the right thing'

One of the greatest tennis players of all time has told Novak Djokovic to exit the Australian Open and leave the country.

Novak Djokovic was drawn against fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic as uncertainty continued over whether he will be allowed to compete in the Australian Open.

Djokovic practised as scheduled at Melbourne Park on Thursday lunchtime, hitting with Argentinian Federico Coria behind closed doors on a roasting hot Rod Laver Arena.

He has been waiting to discover since Monday whether Immigration Minister Alex Hawke will re-cancel his visa despite the Serbian winning his court battle against the Australian Border Force.

Legendary tennis player Martina Navratilova believes the world’s number one should leave Australia before the tournament begins.

Speaking on the Australian TV show Sunrise, Navratilova said: "The best thing for Novak to do I think would be just say ‘you know what, there are too many mistakes, this is not OK and the right thing to do is just to go home.

"It’s just the right thing to do, but I don’t think he will do that because he wants that 21st title."

Anger has been growing over the positive Covid-19 test that Djokovic’s documents show he returned on December 16, with the Serbian admitting in a statement on Wednesday he had attended an interview with French newspaper l’Equipe two days later.

Djokovic said: “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.”

Djokovic also admitted an error was made on his travel declaration form when he did not reveal he had travelled from Serbia to Spain ahead of his journey to Australia, which he attributed to his agent.

Earlier this week in an exclusive interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, Novak Djokovic's family said they felt fearful he will be rearrested at any minute, with his uncle saying Djokovic was “like an animal in a trap”.

Andy Murray, who famously defeated Djokovic to win the Wimbledon tournament in 2013, said other players were shocked and the circumstances surrounding the world number one's barred entry into Australia was "really not good for tennis".