Australian Open director Craig Tiley gave credit to the Australian public for welcoming back Novak Djokovic with open arms. Tiley revealed the Serbian was nervous when he was coming to Australia given what happened in 2022.
Djokovic was deported from Australia ahead of the Australian Open 2022 due to controversy over his visa documents and his unvaccinated status. However, Djokovic was able to hit the ground running in Australia as he won the Adelaide International.
The veteran suffered a hamstring injury before the Australian Open but he defied all the odds to win his 22nd Grand Slam title. The Australian crowd was supportive for Djokovic and there was no booing but only applauding for him, which he truly deserves.
Speaking to the AO Show podcast, Tiley said, “This was a particularly emotional year for Novak. I could see the tension on his face when I saw him the first time,” Tiley said.
“We had met a few times last year and I knew that he was feeling nervous about coming back to Australia. He was very nervous when he first arrived and flew directly into Adelaide. There was a lot of press and talk around him coming in and being booed.”
“You need to give credit to the Australian sporting public that enjoys the sport. We are the fairest in the world. When we are observing greatness, we respect it and cheer accordingly. That’s exactly what happened and he was really welcomed back.”
“He went through a tough time last year for a number of different reasons, primarily driven by his own choice. But he came and once he got settled in Adelaide, South Australia did a magnificent job in welcoming him,” he added.
Tiley showered praise on Djokovic’s mental strength to come up with goods at the Happy Slam.
“It’s kind of like Rafa winning 14 at Roland Garros on the clay but this is remarkable, it’s a hard court at the beginning of the year,” Tiley said. “There’s a lot of variables that can make that change and he’s [Djokovic] remarkable. I haven’t been around an athlete so maniacally focused on performance every single minute of every single day as he is. The results speak for themselves.”
