Tennis Australia says nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is arriving in Australia on Tuesday, less than a year after his high-profile visa saga and deportation last January.
The Australian tennis summer kicks into gear this week with the start of the mixed-gender United Cup on Thursday and Djokovic will start his 2023 campaign with the Adelaide International, an ATP 250 event in South Australia that begins on January 1.
Novak Djokovic is due to touch down in Adelaide on Tuesday.Credit:Getty Images
Australian Open boss Craig Tiley flagged the former world No.1’s arrival in Adelaide at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
“I think again he’s going to be the player to beat,” Tiley said.
In Djokovic’s absence at Melbourne Park in 2022, Rafael Nadal overcame both the odds and lingering injuries to break clear of Djokovic and Roger Federer on the grand slam ladder.
Nadal famously won his 21st major with a come-from-behind win over Daniil Medvedev in the final. Then on his cherished Roland Garros clay courts at the next slam, Nadal won his record-extending 22nd major title.
But Djokovic finished the year in such style and hot form that he was barely disadvantaged by missing two majors – the Australian Open and US Open – due to his choice not to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“He [Djokovic] finished 2022 playing the best tennis, he does want to get to equalling the current record held by Rafa,” said Tiley.
“He has a goal to be the greatest of all time”.
The Australian Open boss repeated his view that he doesn’t believe Djokovic will cop a hostile reception from the sports fans down under.
“I have a great deal of confidence in the Australian public,” Tiley said.
“We’re a very well-educated sporting public, particularly those who come to the tennis, they love their tennis, they love seeing greatness, they love seeing great athleticism, great matches.
“And I have a lot of confidence that the fans will react like we hope they would react and have respect for that.”
Tiley also moved to soften expectations on Nick Kyrgios, declaring that players having to handle pressure from home-town crowds was “not that straightforward”.
A year after Ash Barty ended the nation’s 44-year wait for a home-grown singles champion,world No.22 Kyrgios will play the hardcourt court major with renewed expectations after reaching his first major final at Wimbledon.
Before the Canberran broke through to reach the All-England club decider in July, he had previously played only two grand slam quarter-finals – at Wimbledon in 2014 when he burst onto the scene and at the next year at the Australian Open.
“Reaching the final of Wimbledon is a pretty significant achievement,” Tiley said of Kyrgios, who boasts a 37-10 record in 2022.
Barty experienced immense pressure in recent years before she added the Australian Open trophy to her Roland Garros and Wimbledon triumphs, slams won in 2019 and 2021 respectively. To a lesser extent, big things are expected of Kyrgios, who has reached the fourth round once since his Australian Open quarter-final effort in 2015.
“There’s also a lot of pressure, playing at home in front of your home crowd and being expected to win,” Tiley said when asked about Kyrgios.
“That’s why I think one of the greatest wins we’ve seen here at Melbourne Park was Ash Barty winning in 2022.
“Because it’s a very difficult thing to do as a player. Only they can really talk about it, but responding to the pressure is not that straightforward.
“We would love to see Nick do well. For us it’s just [a] day by day [situation], and him staying healthy and enjoying the competition.
“And I believe if Nick comes out and has some fun while he’s doing it and has an opportunity to play his best tennis, that would be great.”
With temperatures jumping up to mid-30 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, Open officials unveiled a new giant sun shade at Melbourne Park – a change designed to keep tennis fans continuously cool on the grand slam oval.
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