Security officials promptly made a human shield around the players as some others dragged the person

Rafael Nadal will become the first man to win 21 Grand Slam titles if he defeats the Russian in Melbourne.

Daniil Medvedev will play Rafael Nadal for the Australian Open title on Sunday after a stirring victory over Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-final on Friday.

Ninth seed Auger-Aliassime, 21, was the dominant player in the first set and despite a wobble when serving at 6-5 he won a tiebreak courtesy of some Medvedev double-faults the Russian later blamed on the sweaty conditions.

Shapovalov will meet Rafael Nadal for a place in the semi-finals.

Djokovic was deported from Australia, just hours after the court dismissed his effort to stay in the country to play at the Australian Open

Mirza, who will retire after the 2022 season, served well in the contest.

'I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and the tournament I love'

World men's tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic headed reluctantly home on Monday after being kicked out of Australia because of his COVID-19 unvaccinated status, but the government left the door open for a possible return to his favourite Grand Slam in 2023.

Novak Djokovic could be barred from playing in the French Open as things stand now after the Sports Ministry said on Monday there would be no exemption from France's new vaccine pass law.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic's bid to win a record-breaking 21 men's Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open ended on Sunday with a court decision to uphold the government's cancellation of his visa.

Djokovic will be nowhere near the centre court after losing his bid to overturn a second visa cancellation.

An Australian court upheld a government decision to cancel Novak Djokovic's visa on Sunday, ending the unvaccinated tennis superstar's hopes of winning the Australian Open and racking up a record-breaking 21 men's Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic must leave Australia after three federal court judges decided unanimously Sunday to uphold the immigration minister's right to cancel Djokovic's visa.

Djokovic had been favourite to win a 10th title at Melbourne Park and claim a 21st Grand Slam crown but the Serb now faces being deported from Australia.

The reaction has been swift across the world to Novak Djokovic's visa has been cancelled for a second time by the Australian government.

The Serbian champion said he hoped the focus would now return to tennis

Rafael Nadal said on Saturday "too many questions" still needed to be answered concerning Novak Djokovic's bid to play at the Australian Open, while other leading players lamented how the saga had overshadowed the year's first Grand Slam.

Novak Djokovic will spend Saturday night in immigration detention before the world's tennis number one seeks a court ruling to stop his deportation and keep alive his bid for a record 21st major title at the Australian Open.

Unvaccinated tennis star Novak Djokovic won the right to take his fight against deportation from Australia to a Federal Court on Saturday after the government cancelled his visa for the second time over COVID-19 entry regulations.

The Australian government cancelled Novak Djokovic's visa for a second time on Friday, saying the World No 1, unvaccinated for COVID-19, may pose a risk to the community.

Djokovic practised his serves and returns with his entourage on an empty court at Melbourne Park

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is weighing exercising his discretionary powers to revoke Djokovic's visa

Novak Djokovic blamed "human error" on Wednesday for a mistake in his Australian immigration paperwork and apologised for breaking isolation for a photoshoot when he had COVID-19 last month.

Homeland favorite Ashleigh Barty and Serbia's Novak Djokovic are the top seeds for the upcoming Australian Open.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's office said he was still considering whether to use his discretionary power to cancel Novak Djokovic's visa.

Djokovic's family said his release was the 'biggest victory of his life'.

At one stage, police deployed pepper spray.

World number one Novak Djokovic was released from Australian immigration detention on Monday after winning a court challenge to revive his bid to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the upcoming Australian Open.

Australian authorities scrambled on Sunday to file a legal defence of their decision to bar entry to tennis world number one Novak Djokovic over his COVID-19 vaccination status, as the Serbian superstar spent his fourth day in immigration detention.

Djokovic, who is seeking to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the tournament this month, said in a legal challenge on Saturday that he had been given the medical exemption because he had contracted COVID-19 last month.

Djokovic, a vocal opponent of vaccine mandates hoping to win his 21st Grand Slam at the Australian Open, has been holed up since Thursday in a modest Melbourne hotel after his visa was cancelled due to problems with the exemption.

Australia's Nick Kyrgios said he supported vaccination "but how we are handling Novak's situation is bad, really bad". The Australian Open begins on January 17, but the multi-millionaire Djokovic is constrained from training as he sits in a hotel where one Iranian detainee said he had found maggots and mould in the bread.

Tennis World No. 1 Novak Djokovic spent Orthodox Christmas in Australian immigration detention on Friday as his lawyers fought a government decision to remove him from the country that could scupper his shot at a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam.

The 34-year-old is currently housed in a government detention hotel in the suburb of Carlton, 5 km (2 miles) north of Melbourne Park, after authorities cancelled his visa when he arrived in Australia.

The arrival of Novak Djokovic led to incongruous scenes outside the hotel, with members of the Serbian expatriate community draped in the national flag and playing traditional music joining refugee activists in protests.

'This has nothing to do with sports, this is a political agenda. Novak is the best player and the best athlete in the world, but several hundred million people from the West can't stomach that.'

Novak Djokovic will spend at least the next 72 hours in a Melbourne hotel before the next hearing in his fight to overturn a ban on entering Australia is held on Monday.

World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic was denied entry into Australia on Thursday amid a storm of protest about a decision to grant him a medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination requirements to play in the Australian Open.

Djokovic, who has won nine titles at Melbourne Park, including the last three, confirmed on Tuesday that had received a vaccination exemption to allow him to bid for a record 21st major title at the Australian Open, which starts on January 17.