Australian top official reveals the “new reality” of support Novak Djokovic will receive at the 2023 Australian Open
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Novak Djokovic - FirstSportz
World No 5 Novak Djokovic is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He makes his return to the Australian Open after a wait of two years after all his battles over his participation chances due to his Covid-19 vaccination status ended in a positive manner. Resolve Director Jim Reed revealed that the Serb will get huge support from the crowd who will be happy to see him back.
But faced a major setback when he was deported on the eve of his match at the 2022 Australian Open. He entered the country on a valid visa which was later denied. Following his deportation, his visa was canceled for the next three years. He breathed a sigh of relief when his ban was revoked by the Australian federal government after a long wait since the new immigration rules state that vaccination isn’t mandatory to enter the country.
Reed went on to state that almost 30% of the Australian crowd is happy that the 21-time Grand Slam champion has been allowed to participate in 2023 to win his record 10th title in Down Under. He claimed that the support increased because of the change in immigration rules. He also admitted that the percentage of people who believe Novak Djokovic should not be allowed to play has also dropped from 71 percent to 41 percent.
“The new reality of people being allowed to enter the country without being vaccinated. We’re not in the same place. Still, less than a third want him to be allowed to come here and play, with the remainder either against this because they don’t like him or his vaccination stance, or simply not caring about whether he comes or goes,” said Resolve director Jim Reed during an interview.
Novak Djokovic believes that age is not in his favor while revealing his goals for the coming years
He had a tough 2022 season where he missed two Grand Slam tournaments and all the tournaments in the North American leg. He ended the year on a perfect note by winning the Year-end Championship for the sixth time and equaling the record with Roger Federer. Novak Djokovic even appeared in four consecutive finals after the US Open and managed to win thrice. He ended the year in the Top 5 ATP rankings.
The 7-time Wimbledon champion considers himself lucky enough to be able to compete at the highest level while claiming that he needs to work harder to be able to compete with the younger generation. He further admitted that age is not in his favor as he is not younger like a 25-year-old or a 15-year-old.
He will start his 2023 campaign by participating in the Adelaide International tournament that is scheduled between 1-8 January 2023. He will be facing players like Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner, and Andy Murray amongst other Top seeds in his bid to be completely prepared for the 2023 Australian Open.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)