Novak Djokovic has questioned the Australian Open’s new policy of allowing fans to enter stadiums between games after his opening round win at the 2024 edition of the event.
The tennis legend said he was unsure “if it’s really the best rule”, while he also divulged he has been “a bit under the weather” for the last four or five days.
For this year’s Australian Open, a rule has been introduced where fans are allowed into the stadium between gameven if it is not a changeover. Previously, spectators could only enter the court during a changeover between games, which is the rule at other tournaments.
During his first round victory over Dino Prizmic in Melbourne on Sunday, Djokovic talked to the umpire as it took some fans a while to reach their seats in the 14,820 capacity Rod Laver Arena stadium.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Djokovic was asked for his thoughts on the policy and explained he was not aware it had been implemented.
“I did not know about that new policy or new rule. Look, I mean, I understand the motive behind it is to enhance and improve the experience for fans, right? We
do play for fans. We want fans to have a great, thrilling experience of being out on the court,” the 36-year-old said.
“Like [Frances] Tiafoe, for example, is one of the players that was saying we should let people, like in other sports, freely walk and talk during matches. It’s hard, I must say. I understand that and I support it to some extent, but at the same time all my career, all my life I’ve been used to some kind of atmospatmosphere
When that changes, it kind of messes up, distracts you a bit. Today we lost quite a bit of time when they were letting people in to come to their seats, even though it was not a changeover. My opponent would wait for them to sit down. It dragged a lot.
“I don’t know if it’s really the best rule, but I do understand from a tournament and fan perspective it’s probably better because they don’t want to wait. They want to come out and enjoy every single point. I’m kind of divided between the two in a way.”
The world No 1 also addressed having said he was “physically still searching” for himself in a previous interview and suggested he was dealing with a minor illness.
“That’s what I was referring to. Maybe I didn’t express myself. Yeah, I am a bit under the weather last, yeah, four, five days,” Djokovic explained.
“You can probably judge by my voice. Look, it is what it is. You just have to try to deal with it and get over it and accept the circumstances and try to make the most of it.
“I mean, I had an amazing opponent tonight. For an 18-year-old, he played so maturely and confidently on the court, fighting through, not giving up even when he was four down in the fourth set.
“Impressed with his mentality, with his approach, with his game. I hear a lot of positive stories about his discipline, his dedication to everyday routines that are making him so physically strong already at 18 and successful. Yeah, if he continues this way, he’s going to have a very bright career ahead of him, no doubt.”
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