The 2023 Australian Open, which starts on January 16th, will be much different than last year's and that's mostly because of one man - Novak Djokovic.
The 35-year-old Serbian was deported from the country last year, and in 2023, he returns to extend his winning streak in Australia. He won in 2019, 2020 and 2021, but this year, the situation may be a bit more difficult for Djokovic.
Prior to the tournament start, there were a lot of talks about possible booing from the fans, when the Serbian will be on the court, as it happened a few times before already. However, when discussing this issue, the Australian Open tournament director, Craig Tiley said:
“If they disrupt the enjoyment of anyone else – boom, they are out. They can stay away or we will kick them out.”
However, three-time Grand Slam champion, Stan Wawrinka has different opinion. When asked about possible ejection of fans from matches, he defended fans, claiming they should have a right to do whatever they want.
“That’s tennis. If they go over the limit, but I think they should be allowed to do whatever they want. They do it every year. That’s tennis. That’s sport. That’s what you want.”
Since the whole situation was shaped around Novak Djokovic, who will be trying to add his 10th Australian Open title in Melbourne this year, the Swiss player spoke about his situation specifically.
“Things happened with Novak last year and I think there were many mistakes. I do believe they will not boo him. They will be happy to see him and it’s going to be a great tournament.”
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