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The 37-year-old was forced to withdraw from his tie against Alexander Zverev in the final four when trailing by a set and was subject to jeers from the crowd. The following day Djokovic shared images of his MRI scan online with a snide remark at…Read More
Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures as he leaves Rod Laver Arena after retiring in his semifinal match against against Alexander Zverev of Germany at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley brushed aside talks of legendary Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic not returning to the Major down under next year after being subject to jeers from the fans after having pulled out of the semifinal due to injury.
The 37-year-old was forced to withdraw from his tie against Alexander Zverev in the final four when trailing by a set. The following day Djokovic shared images of his MRI scan online with a snide remark at those questioning the ten-time AO champion.
“There was some talk about Novak not coming back here – Novak will return,” Tiley began.
“He leaves today and he’s with his family, his team left on Friday,” he added.
“We’ll see Novak back and I look forward to catching up with him in the next couple of weeks,” he assured.
Tiley went on to laud the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s preparation and work ethic and backed him to fly back down to Australia for the tournament next season.
“He had a good warm-up that morning and his team were confident that he’d be able to get out there and play,” Tiley said.
“I haven’t met a player that does as much pre-preparation and has as big a focus on it as Novak does, and he would do everything he possibly can to get on the court.”
The recently concluded edition of the happy slam saw Jannik Sinner successfully defending his crown in the men’s section while American Madison Keys picked up the top honours in the women’s category in a campaign which also had to endure a couple of instances of intrusive fan behaviour.
“The objective is, right from the beginning, is that the quality of the experience is the most important thing,” Tiley said.
“Our customer satisfaction scores are higher than they were last year, and we’re going through all those numbers, but so far the initial reports have been very positive,” he added.
“If ever there becomes a moment where we’re getting to a number that’s not satisfactory for that experience, we’ll make a change,” Tiley signed off.
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