Novak Djokovic's Covid tests were valid claim Serbian officials amid discrepancy doubts

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic’s submitted Covid tests offered as part of his failed bid to play at the Australian Open are valid, Serbian officials declared today.

Djokovic stole the pre-tournament headlines as the Serb was sensationally deported from Australia after confusion over his visa and exemption status took hold.

It meant the world number one was unable to feature at the tournament and could not defend his crown as he sough a record 10th title Down Under.

Prosecutors in Serbia make the comments after doubts were raised concerning the sequence numbers, which were alarmingly out of sequence. This was deemed incredibly unusual following analysis on a number of other certificates.

One positive Covid test submitted by Djokovic was dated December 16 and had the serial number 7371999. The second test - negative on December 22 - had the serial number 7320919, which is lower than the initial test.

Analysis by the BBC of dozens of Serbian Covid tests revealed that they followed a strict chronological sequence - so the earlier the test was taken, the lower the serial number on the test certificate.

The only outlier to the pattern was Djokovic's positive test, but re-plotting the date of Djokovic's positive test in-line with the serial number suggests the test was actually taken somewhere between December 25 and 28.

Experts contacted by the BBC said it is always possible that some kind of glitch was responsible for the outlying result, though it appears unlikely.

On Wednesday, the Belgrade Public Prosecutor’s office insisted the investigators had checked with the Health Ministry which confirmed both of Djokovic’s tests were valid. They provided no explanation as to why the serial numbers are out of sync.

Djokovic, who