Rafael Nadal, Alex de Minaur and Petra Kvitova welcome Novak Djokovic back to Australia 1 year after deportation saga
Novak Djokovic reached the shores of Australia on Tuesday, almost a year after his controversial deportation saga. While the Serb was refused entry back then due to his unvaccinated status, no such drama surrounded him this time around. Djokovic took to the court soon after making it to Adelaide in preparation for the upcoming ATP 250 event.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion's arrival Down Under was happy news for his colleagues on tour as well, as they welcomed him back to the country with open arms. Rafael Nadal, Djokovic's arch-rival in the Slam race, was one of the first to wish him well, stating that his presence was good for both the sport and fans.
"Novak is here. Good for tennis. Good for probably the fans. Let's see, no? Best players on court always win," Nadal said.
Australia's Alex de Minaur also declared that it was "great" to see the former World No. 1 back in his country, adding that it was important for all athletes to test their mettle against the best in the business. The World No. 24 went as far as to declare that all of Australia will be happy to see the 35-year-old's return to the nation.
"Yeah, it's great to have him back. Obviously as any athlete, you want to be competing against the best in the world. It's good to have him back. Ultimately as an athlete you don't want to be winning matches when the best in the world aren't playing," Alex de Minaur said.
"So it's great to have the competition back, great to see him back. I think Australia will be happy to see him back," he added.
Petra Kvitova welcomed Novak Djokovic back to Australia as well, noting that he was a great player whose presence was missed on tour last year. The Czech further added that tennis deserved to have someone of the Serb's caliber in the big competitions, a sentiment every player on tour would agree with.
"Well, I didn't see him yet, but... I think it was a big issue last year, of course. We probably don't know the inside of all the things was happening last year. But definitely I think that it's great that he is back here playing, because of the great player he is," Kvitova said.
"I think it's a great for tennis that he is back in the big competitions. Yeah, I think it's always great to have the best, so yeah," she added.
Novak Djokovic top seed at Adelaide event, seeded fifth at Australian Open
At the ATP 250 event in Adelaide, Novak Djokovic will be the top seed, leading the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, and others.
From there, the World No. 5 will travel to Melbourne for the Australian Open, where he will be the fifth seed. Ahead of him are Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
A nine-time winner at the tournament, Djokovic will be hoping to become only the second man in history to win a Grand Slam 10 times or more, following in the footsteps of 14-time French Open champion Nadal.