Emotional Djokovic at home Down Under
Serb gets warm reception at Rod Laver Arena ahead of Australian Open
Novak Djokovic was “a bit emotional” after receiving a warm welcome yesterday on his return to Melbourne Park, before facing Nick Kyrgios in a sell-out Australian Open exhibition match.
All 15,000 seats at Rod Laver Arena sold out in 58 minutes, with proceeds going to charity, ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year on Monday.
Djokovic, who was deported a year ago, was given a good reception when he went on to win an Adelaide warm-up tournament last week and it was a similar story at Rod Laver Arena, where he is a nine-time champion.
“Thank you so much, feel a bit emotional right now to be honest,” the former world No 1 from Serbia told the crowd after his entrance on court was met by cheers and applause.
Looking forward
“I was really looking forward to coming back to this court, so thank you all you guys for coming out tonight for a great cause,” said the
35-year-old, one of the best men’s tennis players of all time.
In a light-hearted encounter against Australia’s Kyrgios, Djokovic wore tape for a left hamstring issue, which saw him curtail a practice match against Daniil Medvedev this week. But he appeared to have no trouble with his movement against Kyrgios and said beforehand that he was “feeling good”. Kyrgios also allayed concerns about an ankle injury, which has hampered his preparations.
They each won one shortened set before concluding the friendly knockabout with a tiebreak.
“It’s great to be back in Melbourne, to be back in Australia,” Djokovic said. “This is the court and the stadium where I created the best memories of my professional career.”