Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley says the tournament is focused on welcoming back Novak Djokovic and not on what happened 12 months ago.
Djokovic went through probably the most difficult and challenging period of his career when he was detained and ultimately deported from Australia.
In November, the Australian government officially rescinded Djokovic’s three-year ban from entering the country.
Now, everything is set for Djokovic’s return to Melbourne Park.
Djokovic is a record nine-time Australian Open champion and Tiley feels the Serb will be welcomed well.
Tiley on Djokovic: He is popular here, has a big fan base
“The last two years have been very difficult for everyone across the world, not just the Australian Open. If you take a step back and look, those circumstances were beyond our control. That situation, would we have preferred for it not to happen? Absolutely. We would’ve preferred for it not to happen. Did we do everything we could’ve possibly done at the time? Yes, we did. We are focused on welcoming Novak back. He arrives next week. He’s playing an event in Adelaide and then plays the Australian Open. I talked to him a lot during the year, he’s a great champion. He’s playing the best tennis and is going to be the favorite coming in. He’s popular in Australia, and he has a big fan base,” Tiley told The Times of India.
Djokovic is intending to kick off his 2023 season at the Adelaide International.
After Adelaide, Djokovic will head to Melbourne for the opening Grand Slam event of the season.
Before Djokovic was denied participation at the Australian Open, he captured consecutive titles at the tournament in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
In his return to Australia, Djokovic will certainly be extremely motivated to do well.
Djokovic is the top favorite for the Australian Open title and many expect the 21-time Grand Slam champion to him to win a record 10th Australian Open title in January.
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