Former #4 responds to 'super secretive' Djokovic training clip

January 11, 2022

ATP Tennis Players, Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, Tennis News, Tennis Tournaments

‘Fingers crossed we only talk tennis’ – Former world number four responds to ‘super secretive’ Novak Djokovic training video

Former British number one and 1997 US Open finalist Greg Rusedski has commented on video of Novak Djokovic hitting at Melbourne Park as he prepares for the Australian Open.

The world number one had his visa cancellation overturned in court and has been allowed out of detention to begin training to defend his 2021 title.

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller described Djokovic as having a “super secretive” training session on Rod Laver Arena behind closed doors, with TV screens “blanked out”.

The only footage of the session came from a 9 News drone, video which Rusedski retweeted.

“Defending champion practising,” Rusedski captioned the post.

“Fingers crossed we will only be talking about tennis.”

There is yet the possibility that Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke could still exercise his power to revoke Djokovic’s visa.

In doing so he would prevent Djokovic from claiming a record-extending 10th men’s singles title in Melbourne and a stop his chance at breaking the men’s Slam record with a 21st title overall.

Feelings are mixed among fellow pros about the situation surrounding Djokovic and his participation at the Australian Open.

One competitor expressed his view that the 34-year-old “had no right” to be in Australia while unvaccinated.

Meanwhile, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley described constantly shifting information as the reason behind the scale of the controversy.

“The conflicting information, and the contradictory information we received, was because of the changing environment. We are in a challenging environment,” he said.