Warm welcome
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic received a warm welcome from the crowd on Friday at his Friday training session with Australian Nick Kyrgios at the Rod Laver Arena ahead of the Australian Open which starts on Monday. SOURCE: (EUROPA PRESS)
Deported last year
The Belgrade, nine-time champion at Melbourne Park, could not play the last edition of the first ‘Grand Slam’ of the season because he was not vaccinated against the coronavirus and was deported by the country’s authorities.
Still unvaccinated
A year later, ‘Nole’ has been able to return taking advantage of the fact that the measures are not so strict and it remained to be seen how the local public would react to his presence as he still does not have the vaccination pattern.
Training tickets sold out
However, all the tickets that the organization put on sale at 20 Australian dollars to watch this training session between the finalists of the last edition of Wimbledon were sold out an hour after going on sale.
The stands, with Novak
Djokovic was able to see for himself that the crowd, with many of his country’s flags, will not turn their backs on his bid for a record number of titles at Melbourne Park.
«I’m feeling a little emotional»
«I am very happy, thank you very much. I feel a little bit excited, I was really looking forward to coming back to this track. It feels great to be back in Australia, back in Melbourne. This is the court where I created the best memories of my career,» Djokovic told the crowd.
In good physical condition
Although there were some doubts about his physical condition due to his hamstring problems, the former world number one had a quiet day without great physical demands against Kyrgios, with time for relaxation also in a match that featured chair tennis players David Wagner and Heath Davidson, and two juniors.
