Ball is in Djokovic's court as lawyers battle to keep him in Australia

SYDNEY -- World No 1 Novak Djokovic will remain in a detention hotel throughout this weekend as his lawyers fight to enable the tennis ace to remain in the country to defend his Australian Open (AO) crown.

His case is due to be held before a Federal Court judge on Monday morning. He has been granted with an interim injunction after launching a last-minute bid in the Federal Circuit Court, which prevents him from being deported until at least 4pm Monday.

The Serbian superstar's visa troubles began late on Wednesday when he landed in Melbourne ahead of the grand slam event due to start on Jan 17.

Djokovic, a known anti-vaxxer, has refused to state his COVID-19 vaccine status, a major sticking point as all AO participants must either be fully vaccinated or have a medical exemption in order to enter Victoria without undertaking the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

The AO organizers announced on Tuesday that Djokovic's exemption had been granted following a review involving two panels of medical experts.

In a statement released on Thursday, however, the Australian Border Force (ABF) announced he had "failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet entry requirements" and his visa had subsequently been canceled.

Australian Border Force (ABF) are also investigating another two cases who were allowed to enter the country under a reportedly similar situation with Djokovic.