Players encouraged
Williams, Osaka, Nadal and Djokovic get to play in front of fans in Australian tuneup
A ray of optimism emerged from the melange of drama preceding this year’s Australian Open, when attendees packed the stands to watch some of the sport’s biggest names in Adelaide on Friday.
The exhibition event, which included Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Rafael Nadal, was the first in a series of tuneup tournaments ahead of the Australian Open. Which begins Feb. 8.
The sight encouraged viewers and players, who competed in front of a reported 4,000 fans, many not wearing masks.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic received treatment for a blister on his right hand and missed the start of his scheduled exhibition match against Jannik Sinner. He rotated in for fellow Serbian Filip Krajinovic in the second set, later crediting his return to the cheering crowd.
“First of all, thank you so much for coming out and making our day and making our year. We didn’t play in front this much crowd for 12 months, so this is definitely something very special,” he said during his post-match interview.
“We learn over the years to play with the pain . . . But the emotion was so strong in me to come out on the court today seeing almost full stands, I had to play.”
Djokovic’s appearance followed his withdrawal from the exhibition less than an hour before, citing his right-hand injury. It was the latest twist in a series of episodes involving him and other competitors.
Djokovic, an eight-time Australian Open champion, had previously proposed then apologized for a list of “demands” to accommodate players in Melbourne, about 400 miles southeast from where Friday’s exhibition took place.
Those proposals stemmed from some players’ complaints about hotel conditions after they arrived in Melbourne.
Djokovic, meanwhile, was quarantined in Adelaide under less restrictive conditions along with Williams, Osaka and the sport’s top stars. Their tournament was the only tuneup competition held in Adelaide. The others, which begin next week, will be in Melbourne.
Australia has had fewer than 29,000 coronavirus cases.