“Will kick them out,” Craig Tiley issues a stern warning to Novak Djokovic jeerers before the start of Australian Open 2023
Craig Tiley is unhappy with the way Australian crowd treated Novak Djokovic in the final of the Adelaide International 1 tournament. He hopes for better atmosphere during the Australian Open 2023.
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Novak Djokovic and Australian Open crowd
Novak Djokovic is one of the most popular tennis players in the world. Many love him, but few hate him too. But whatever the reason may be, almost every person in this world has an opinion about him. However, there are few people who hate him. Many have targeted him on social media as well as in the stadiums.
In a similar episode, a few spectators targeted the Serb during his final match against Sebastian Korda at the 2023 Adelaide International 1 tournament. They were booing him as he was ready to play some shots. He complained to the referee about this. Hence, the spectatorshad to be cast out of the stadium.
However, Tennis Australia took cognizance of this matter. Craig Tiley gave a stern warning to the spectators.
“If they disrupt the enjoyment of anyone else – boom, they are out. We don’t want them on site. They can stay away or we will kick them out,” he said in a recent interview given to Australian newspaper the Herald Sun.
However, the Australian Open 2023 tournament director is also optimistic that Australian tennis fans will maintain a conducive and positive atmosphere for everyone and respect every tennis player during the Grand Slam event.
“Our sporting fans are among the most educated in the world. They appreciate greatness, I’m pretty confident that the fans of Melbourne, similar to the experience that he had in Adelaide, will be just as good,” he hopes.
Tennis players tryst with tennis fans in Australia
Tennis players love to play in Australia. As the first Grand Slam of the season, it marks as one of the most important tennis tournaments of the tennis calendar. They also love the tennis fans that flock to stadiums to witness some great action on the court. The Australian crowd makes sure the atmosphere is incredible in the stadium.
Nick Kyrgios loves to play in front of tennis fans in Australia. The home support that he gets is tremendous. However, there are a few elements in the crowd which can disrupt the game and cause trouble for the players.
Daniil Medvedev had to deal with a hostile crowd last time when he played at the Australian Open. He reached the final of the 2022 Australian Open but could not beat Rafael Nadal, despite winning the first two sets. The Australian crowd booed and jeered at him throughout the tournament.
“I remember playing against de Minaur in Sydney, a game where I definitely didn’t have the crowd on my side. But I remember, after the game, I sat down with my coach and we thought the atmosphere was crazy,” he said.
However, he is still very excited to play in Australia but hopes he will be received better this time around.
“The important thing is that the public is not disrespectful, otherwise it becomes difficult for anyone. When it happens you’re a little disappointed, but, once again, everyone loves playing in Australia because of the great atmosphere on the pitch. I can’t wait to play here, and I hope to express myself in the best way,” he continued.
Similar scenes were witnessed when Britain’s Liam Broady took on Nick Kyrgios and France’s Arthur Rinderknech took on Thanasi Kokkinakis in the Australian Open 2022. The umpire had to intervene from time-to-time during both the matches to soothe the situation.
Sport includes a fantastic and crucial component known as audience engagement. However, when it becomes too much to fathom, fears are that it may become ugly. Everybody hopes though, that this time’ ‘tennis will win’ and both tennis players and the public can have an equal amount of fun.
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Abhar Indorkar
(451 Articles Published)