Tennis authorities fear there could be crowd violence at the Australian Open if Novak Djokovic plays

• Tennis authorities fear there could be violence at the Australian Open if Novak Djokovic competes.
• Fans of the Serbian clashed with police on Monday following his release from a detention facility.

Tennis authorities in Melbourne fear there could be crowd violence at the Australian Open if Novak Djokovic plays in the tournament, according to a report from Sportsmail.

Fans of the Serbian tennis star clashed with police on Monday after he was released from an immigration detention facility, where he had been held since the Australian Border Force revoked his visa on Thursday.

According to Sky News Australia, a black Audi believed to be carrying Djokovic was mobbed by fans waving flags and chanting "Free Novak!" as it drove away from the world number one's lawyer's office.

Fans were pepper sprayed by police in an attempt to disperse them, reports The Northern Daily Leader, while one man was arrested and is expected to be charged with "assaulting police and acting in a riotous manner," the paper added.

Two officers, a male leading senior constable and a female constable, also received minor injuries that did not require medical treatment, says The Northern Daily Leader.

—Paul Sakkal (@paulsakkal) January 10, 2022

In the wake of Monday's trouble, Tennis Australia, the governing body for tennis in the country, now reportedly fears there could be trouble at the Australian Open if Djokovic competes.

During the 2007 Australian Open, Melbourne Park's Garden Square was the site of a mass brawl between Serbs and Croats, who attacked each other with flagpoles and bottles, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The brawl started, media reports at the time said, when Serbian fans taunted Croatia's Mario Ancic and supported his Japanese opponent during a first round match.

Authorities fear a repeat of such violence with tensions surrounding the treatment of Djokovic now reaching a boiling point, reports Sportsmail.

Sportsmail's report echoes one from the Daily Telegraph newspaper over the weekend which cited security analysts who suggested that authorities should look to police the Australian Open more like a soccer tournament than a tennis event.

Tennis Australia did not immediately respond to an out-of-hours request for comment from Insider on Sportsmail's report.

It remains unclear whether Djokovic will play

Djokovic arrived in Australia last Thursday under the impression that he had been given a medical exemption that would allow him to play in the Australian Open without a COVID-19 vaccine.

But his visa was revoked upon landing in Melbourne. Border forces then subsequently transferred him to a detention facility in the center of the city to await deportation.

On Monday, however, the 34-year-old's visa was reinstated after a judge ruled that the cancellation of his visa was "unreasonable."

Though for the time being he is cleared to compete in the Australian Open, Djokovic could still be deported at the will of Australia's minister for immigration and migrant services, Alex Hawke, who could exercise a "personal power of cancellation."

Hawke said on Monday, according to Melbourne court reporter Karen Sweeney, that he's "still considering a decision and the process is ongoing."

Djokovic, a nine-time winner of the Australian Open, posted a smiling photo of him and his team during a practice session at Melbourne Park after his release on Monday.

—Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 10, 2022

"I'm pleased and grateful that the Judge overturned my visa cancellation," he said. "Despite all that has happened, I want to stay and try to compete Australian Open I remain focused on that.

The Australian Open begins on January 17.