Novak Djokovic made a low-key arrival in Australia on Tuesday and can expect a warm welcome from tennis fans a year on from his deportation drama, according to grand slam boss Craig Tiley.
Tiley, tournament director at the Australian Open, said he was confident the public would respond positively to the 21-time major winner who was thrown out of the country ahead of the last Melbourne Park event.
In early January this year, Australian's then immigration minister Alex Hawke determined Djokovic should be removed from the country "on health and good order grounds" and "in the public interest".
Djokovic had been granted a medical exemption to enter Australia, despite not being vaccinated, only for border officials to block him upon his arrival, setting in motion a saga that dominated the lead-up to the championship.
There had been concerns Djokovic would be banned from the country for the next three years, as that is the punishment that usually comes with a deportation order, but instead he has been welcomed back.
Australia's border entry rules changed in July, with travellers no longer obliged to provide evidence of vaccination status.
On Tuesday, Tiley said Djokovic had arrived in Adelaide, with local media also reporting he had quietly entered the country.
The Australian Open begins on January 16, with Djokovic due to compete in the first of two Adelaide International tournaments before then, from January 1-8.
Djokovic was kept in a detention centre on his arrival last year, but this time the 35-year-old Serbian can expect all the trappings that come with his status as an all-time tennis great.
"He finished 2022 playing the best tennis, he does want to get to equalling the current record held by Rafa," said Tiley at a press conference, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. "He has a goal to be the greatest of all time."
Djokovic has nine Australian Open men's singles titles, the most of any player.
Should he scoop another, he would move alongside Rafael Nadal on 22 slams, the most singles majors won by a man. Nadal won the Australian Open in Djokovic's absence last year.
Tiley thinks Djokovic has achieved enough in his career for last January's sorry soap opera to be set aside, saying: "I have a great deal of confidence in the Australian public.
"We're a very well-educated sporting public, particularly those who come to the tennis, they love their tennis, they love seeing greatness, they love seeing great athleticism, great matches.
"And I have a lot of confidence that the fans will react like we hope they would react and have respect for that."
Ahead of his journey Down Under, Djokovic had said: "I'm just glad to have a chance to start there.
"After obviously what happened earlier this year, hopefully, I can have a decent reception there, and that can help me play some good tennis."
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
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