Australian Open: The organization of the tournament ready to “expel” any spectators hostile to Novak Djokovic

Australian Open spectators are warned: they will be expelled from the stands if they attack Novak Djokovic, who was expelled from Australia last year because of his status as not vaccinated against Covid-19. The Serbian, a nine-time tournament winner, returns next week to Melbourne, a city that has endured one of the world’s longest lockdowns during the pandemic. The attitude of Djokovic, who arrived unvaccinated in Australia in early 2022 and was deported after a few days in solitary confinement, had divided local opinion.

A year later, the Serb was this time allowed to return to the country to play the first Grand Slam tournament of 2023. And the director of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley, warned spectators who would intend to take on the current world number 5: “If they disturb the pleasure of the other spectators, boom, we expel them“, he told the daily Herald Sun on Wednesday.

A risk to put into perspective given the welcome given to Djokovic in Adelaide

“What I’ve always loved about Melbourne is that the public really appreciates the sport and the performance, more than anywhere in Australia in my opinion“, he added, however. “And I hope people will take that into account“.