"Pressure on me and my family has been tremendous" - Novak Djokovic opens up about emotionally challenging Australian Open ordeal
Novak Djokovic has revealed that the scars of his 2022 Australian Open controversy did not end with the tournament, but stayed with him for months after the incident in January. The Serbian tennis great stated that his family also experienced a lot of pressure from the outside world.
Djokovic was deported from Australia after days of legal proceedings and faces a three-year ban from entering the country. The Serb played just one tournament (in Dubai) until April and made a comeback on tour during the European claycourt swing.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion, who is working on his Paris Masters title defense this week, spoke to Tennis Channel's Prakash Amritraj on the sidelines of the tournament and opened up about the Australian Open saga that continued for much longer than expected and affected his family. He declared that the experience was very unusual for him.
"Months after Australia I was really emotionally challenged," Djokovic said. "All the stuff that was happening off the court, people's pressures on me and my family has been tremendous. I have never experienced something like this in my career and my life, and it was very unusual. I tried to deal with it in the best possible way."
The Serb said that he expected to leave the Australian Open ordeal behind in Australia, but it stayed with him long after he left the country, went back home, and even during the first few months of the European swing. Apart from being asked about it time and again, he said that he could even hear people in the stands talking about his coronavirus vaccination controversy while he played matches.
"When I came back to Europe from Australia, I thought it was behind me and I'll move on, but it really wasn't ended there. It just kept going for months and months, people would ask me about it all the time. You can hear people in the stands or in the city mentioning those things," the 35-year-old added.
Novak Djokovic declares that he has now overcome the Australian Open ordeal
Novak Djokovic went on to say that the emotionally challenging period of his life in the aftermath of the Australian Open is now behind him and he feels much better when on the court. Winning his seventh Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam title came at "the best possible time," expressed the Serb.
While aware that he cannot completely escape the controversy and cannot avoid questions about the same, Djokovic said that he now feels comfortable in his own skin.
"It was tough but it is behind me now," Djokovic said, adding, "I feel like in the last 4 months, I've been truly myself on the court. Wimbledon was such an important milestone and tournament for me. Wimbledon came at the best possible time. For me to win Wimbledon was a huge relief in a way."
"I know that what happened earlier this year will keep on following me. I'll always get those questions and it is not something I expect to vanish so quickly. But at the same time, I feel comfortable in my skin."
After winning Wimbledon, the Serbian great also won back-to-back titles in Tel Aviv and Astana last month. He began his Paris Masters title defense with a 7-6(1), 6-4 win against Maxime Cressy on Tuesday.