Djokovic in Australia a year after being expelled over the Covid vaccine

Novak Djokovic arrived in Australia. The Serbian tennis player, currently number 5 in the world, set foot on the country’s soil again less than a year after the case that saw him as a protagonist on the eve of the last edition of theAustralian Open: he had been expelled because he had not been vaccinated against the COVID-19 when it was mandatory. Twelve months later, without the obligation, the Belgrade champion will hunt for the tenth title of his career in the Australian major. The first time he won it in 2008, the last time in 2021.

Australian Open, Djokovic is the favourite

Last season Djokovic was also forced to miss theUs Open for his decision not to have the vaccine. In Australia, the Serb even ended up in a migrant detention center waiting for his case to be evaluated by the authorities. Djokovic landed today at Adelaide, the city that from 2 to 8 January will host the ATP 250 tournament that anticipates the Australian Open by a week. “Again I think he will be the man to beat,” said the Australian Open director, Craig Tiley.

Djokovic and Nadal’s record

In Australia Djokovic will go hunting for the 22nd Grand Slam title that would allow him to reach Rafael Nadal at the top of the all-time rankings. The Spaniard leads the special solo ranking after catching up with Djokovic thanks to his victory in Australia in January 2022 and after overtaking with the triumph at the Roland Garros last June. Djokovic redeemed himself shortly after by winning Wimbledon in July for the seventh time in his career and ending the year on a high note with victory at Atp Finals of Turin. “He finished 2022 playing the best tennis, he wants to equal Rafa’s current record,” highlighted Tiley, for whom Djokovic “has the goal of being the greatest of all time.” The director of the Australian Open does not expect a hostile reception towards him from the public. “I have a lot of faith in the Australian public, we are a very educated sports public, especially those who come to watch tennis and who love big matches. I have a lot of faith that the fans will react as we hope and that they have respect.”

Kyrgios, Australia awaits its champion

Expectations at Melbourne Park are also high for Nick Kyrgios, home idol who in the past season seems to have finally found the maturity to express himself without the blackouts that have marked his career. The final reached at Wimbledon is the greatest testimony of Kyrgios’ maturation. Now the home crowd dreams of seeing him protagonist all the way on hard courts in Melbourne, where the 27-year-old from Canberra reached the quarterfinals in 2015. “Reaching the Wimbledon final is quite a significant achievement,” Tiley underlined. “There’s also a lot of pressure for those playing at home in front of their home crowd with the expectation of winning. That’s why I think one of the biggest wins we’ve seen here at Melbourne Park was Ash Barty’s in 2022,” he said. added referring to the exploits of the Australian tennis player in the women’s field. “We’d like to see Nick do well, he’s fit and will enjoy the tournament.”