Djokovic wins legal battle against the Australian government.

MELBOURNE, January 10 (Reuters) - World number one Novak Djokovic was released from Australian immigration detention on Monday after winning a court case to resume his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title at the upcoming Australian Open.

Judge Anthony Kelly deemed the federal government's decision last week to revoke the tennis player's visa to enter the country "irrational" and ordered Djokovic's release.

Djokovic's situation has been closely watched around the world, creating political tensions between Belgrade and Canberra and sparking a heated debate over national vaccination mandates.

Serbian celebration

News of his release was greeted with boisterous celebrations of drumbeats and dancing by a group of about 50 supporters, many waving the Serbian flag, outside the Melbourne courthouse.

Kelly also ordered the federal government to pay Djokovic's legal costs, as he spent several days in an immigrant detention hotel, noting that his lawyers argued that his "personal and professional reputation and economic interests could be directly affected."

Lawyers for the federal government, however, indicated that the fight may not be over, telling the court that Immigration Minister Alex Hawke was reserving the right to exercise his personal power to revoke Djokovic's visa again.

After confirming that such a measure, if taken, would bar the 34-year-old Djokovic from the country for three years, Kelly warned government lawyers that "the stakes have now been raised, rather than lowered."

Hawke's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

One week until the tournament

Djokovic, who was present in his lawyers' room for the hearing, did not immediately appear in public or make a statement after the decision. The Australian Open begins on January 17.

Kelly said he overturned the government's decision to cancel Djokovic's visa because the player did not have enough time to speak with tennis organizers and lawyers to fully respond after he was notified of the intention to cancel his visa.

Kelly noted that Melbourne airport officials had the player turn off his phone from midnight until around 7:42 am local time, when the decision was made to cancel his visa.

The authorities also reneged on the agreement to give Djokovic until 8:30 a.m. to speak with the tournament organizer, Tennis Australia, and his lawyers, the judge said.

No vaccine

Instead, Djokovic was woken by authorities around 6 a.m., after a brief rest, and said he felt pressured to answer. The player, a long-time opponent of mandatory vaccination, told border officials that he was not vaccinated and had contracted COVID-19 twice, according to a transcript of the interview.

Kelly previously told the court that it appeared Djokovic had sought and received the required medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination based on the fact that he had contracted the virus last month. He had presented evidence of this before traveling to Melbourne and when he landed on Wednesday night.

"What more could this man have done?" Kelly said.

Kelly's decision did not directly question whether the exemption based on an infection within the last six months was valid, which the government disputed.

Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said earlier that his organization had been in talks with federal and state officials for months to ensure the safe passage of the players. Tennis Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was unclear whether the decision would affect Czech player Renata Voracova, who was detained in the same detention hotel as Djokovic after her visa was revoked following issues with her vaccination exemption. Voracova left the country on Friday without questioning her status, the Czech Foreign Ministry said.

Fury in Australia

Djokovic's case has caused a furor in Australia, where more than 90% of the adult population has received two doses of the vaccine and public opinion has been largely against the player.

Emotions are particularly intense in Melbourne, which has experienced the world's longest cumulative lockdown.

COVID-19 cases in the country surpassed 1 million on Monday, with more than half of them recorded in the past week, increasing the number of hospitalizations, straining supply chains and overwhelming testing facilities.

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd accused the center-right coalition government of current leader Scott Morrison of botching the situation.

"Total incompetence! If they really didn't want him, why the hell did they give him a visa to fly here?" Rudd said. "This was designed as a giant distraction strategy when in the real world people can't take the test."

The saga began when Djokovic posted a photo of himself leaning on his luggage on Instagram last Tuesday, telling the world he was heading to Australia to compete in the Open with a vaccination exemption.

Photographs posted on social media showed him appearing at public functions in Serbia in the days after testing positive on December 16. It was unclear whether Djokovic knew of his positive test at the time.