MELBOURNE, Australia — After a 75-minute delay, Novak Djokovic was placed in the Australian Open draw Thursday amid uncertainty over his visa status and a potential deportation still hanging over his head.

Djokovic, the No. 1 seed, will face Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round, if his visa doesn’t get canceled.

The draw, to determine the men’s and women’s singles brackets at the year’s first tennis major, was scheduled to be held at 3 p.m. local time in Melbourne, but a tournament official told waiting media that the ceremony had been postponed until further notice and declined further comment. It was later rescheduled to 4:15 p.m. local time.

The Australian Open begins Monday. Djokovic traveled to Australia seeking to win a 21st Grand Slam title to break the men’s record of 20 he shared with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday the government has yet to decide on canceling Djokovic’s visa.

The Australian immigration minister Alex Hawke was still considering whether to deport the nine-time and defending Australian Open champion, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, on public interest grounds.

The 34-year-old Serb had his visa canceled on arrival in Melbourne last week when his vaccination exemption was questioned, but he won a legal battle on procedural grounds that allowed him to stay in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said most Australians disapproved of the nine-time and defending Australian Open champion coming to Melbourne to compete in breach of the nation’s tough pandemic quarantine rules.

“The vast majority of Australians … didn’t like the idea that another individual, whether they’re a tennis player or … the king of Spain or the Queen of England, can come up here and have a different set of rules to what everybody else has to deal with,” Joyce said.