The results of the PCR tests presented by the world No. 1 in tennis Novak Djokovic in order to qualify for the Australian Open in January were “valid”, the Serbian prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday after an investigation.

After initially being barred from coming to Australia, thanks to these tests proving that he had been infected by COVID-19 a month before the tournament, the unvaccinated Serb was eventually expelled, after 10 days of judicial soap opera, from the Australian government before the start of the tournament because of the “health risk” it could represent.

According to a test provided to the Australian authorities by the holder of twenty Grand Slam titles, including nine at the Australian Open, Djokovic tested positive for COVID-19 on 16 December. Another test performed on December 22 was negative.

But the validity of these tests has been questioned by some media outlets, including the BBC, because of their serial number, which means that the one on December 22nd was lower than the one on December 16th.

“An analysis of the digital database (…) has shown that Novak Djokovic has been tested several times and that the certificates for these tests of 16 and 22 December 2021 are valid,” the prosecutor’s office confirmed in a press release, adding that these verifications were made by the Ministry of Health.

Djokovic, however, attended an event with young tennis players in Belgrade on December 17th and was interviewed on December 18th in the French sports newspaper L’Equipe.

He assured that he received the positive PCR notification only after the December 17 meeting and acknowledged a “crisis error” in relation to the interview.

The Australian Open, where he aspired to win the 21st Grand Slam title, was won by the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who alone set the record for the great titles by winning his 21st grand title, ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer who have an echo. anyone.

Since returning to Serbia on January 17th, Djokovic has kept a low profile, appearing only a few times in public, without making any statements.

He is expected to meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday and speak briefly to the press.