As the setting for one of his first professional singles titles, Adelaide will always carry happy memories for Novak Djokovic.
In 2007, the then 19-year-old defeated Chris Guccione in the final to lift an ATP trophy for the third time in his young career. Now a 91-time singles champion at professional level, Djokovic went on to claim the first of his record nine Australian Open singles titles the following year.
“I was actually watching highlights (from that Adelaide final) this morning,” said Djokovic, who arrived in Australia earlier this week. “Some great memories also from a few years ago, also playing here in (an) exhibition event.
“Hopefully we can have a packed stadium and a lot of tennis fans and have a good week.”
The return to South Australia marks Djokovic’s first appearance in an Australian tournament since his Australian Open 2021 triumph. While unable to compete in several nations last year, the Serbian added to his Grand Slam record with a seventh Wimbledon title, with four other singles titles including the prestigious season-ending ATP Finals.
Finishing the season at world No.5, Djokovic considered next week’s Adelaide International as the perfect preparation for a 17th main draw campaign at the Australian Open.
“I chose Adelaide because I wanted to get a tournament ahead of Australian Open,” Djokovic related to media in Adelaide ahead of the ATP 250 tournament, which features eight of the world’s top 20-ranked men and is contested in conjunction with a WTA 500 tournament.
“I wanted a normal 250 event,” Djokovic added. “Judging by the list of players that are playing in a 250 event, it’s not really 250 event, it’s maybe a 500 event or maybe a 1000. Some of the best players in the world playing here, both men and women’s side.”
Noting the intense challenge that could come from the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime (currently ranked world No.6), Daniil Medvedev (No.7), Andrey Rublev (No.8) and Holger Rune (No.11), Djokovic also acknowledged a hometown threat who is looming early in the tournament.
“You have really, really top guys,” he said. “Also in the opening rounds, you can play Thanasi Kokkinakis, who is title defender, right? That could be fun actually. Playing Thanasi in front of his home fans, could be fun.”
At age 35, Djokovic maintains confidence that he can add to his prolific record, while acknowledging a transformation in the game’s upper echelons.
“I always have faith in myself and belief that I can win every tournament that I play on. I think with the career that I’ve had, I feel like I deserve to have that kind of I guess mental approach,” he noted.
“Things are obviously different. Lots of young guys on the tour, kind of shift of generations. But (Rafael) Nadal and myself, still going strong from the older guys. Obviously 2022 season was a celebration year of some of the greatest players ever to hold the racquet, like (Roger) Federer and Serena Williams. It was also sad to see them retire from the sport.
“I think we have some great athletes, some great players that are going to carry this game on both men and women’s side in best possible way. I know what I need to do in order to compete with them, in order to be one of the contenders for the title here and in Melbourne.
“The good memories and good history that I have on Australian soil gives me a lot of positive emotions and belief that I can do it again, that I can go far.”
Djokovic does so with a deep appreciation for his return to Australia. “It’s a country where I’ve had tremendous success in my career, particularly in Melbourne, by far my most successful Grand Slam, won it nine times,” said the Serbian, who holds a special fondness for Adelaide.
“As I said, it’s a great place. People in Adelaide and generally in Australia love tennis, love sports. It’s a sporting nation. Hopefully we’re going to have a lot of people watching and we can have some good time.”