Novak Djokovic to get Rafael Nadal-like honour at Melbourne Park, but Australian Open boss' call divides tennis world

Published 1 month ago• 4 minute read

Jan 28, 2025 08:27 AM IST

Novak Djokovic is all set to get Rafael Nadal-like honour at Melbourne Park as Australian Open boss Craig Tiley has given the green light to immortalising the Serb in statue form. The decision comes amid Djokovic's rocky relationship with Aussie fans, who booed him out of the Rod Laver Arena after he retired from his semifinal match at the Australian Open last Friday.

Novak Djokovic statute gets green signal at Melbourne Park(AFP)

Tiley revealed that the call to have a statue of Djokovic is part of a brand new ‘tennis legends’ attraction, with several stars like Serena Williams and Roger Federer also set to be honoured in the coming years.

“I’d like to have a whole precinct full of statues of the great tennis players,” Tiley told Code Sports. “Every year we put up a new statue of an Australian and this precinct is about tennis. It was built with tennis in mind and we have so many people that come here from right around the world. And I think there is more we can offer those fans from the tennis precinct.”

Tiley feels the statue of Djokovic, who won an unprecedented 10 Australian Open titles, claiming a record 99 wins, will be the right player to start with.

“I mean, he’s won this event 10 times and I still think he can win it again,” he said. “I think any time we can recognise tennis or the champions of the game I’m going to go for it. Whether it’s Novak, Roger Federer, Serena Williams – the list goes on.”

Despite his stellar record at the Melbourne Park over the years, Djokovic has not had the best time in Australia recently. In 2022, the 37-year-old, who arrived in Melbourne as the defending champion, was not allowed to enter the country because of his Covid vaccination status. But it was his decision to not vaccinate that angered fans. Ahead of the start of the 2025 edition of the Slam, he claimed that he was poisoned during that incident in 2022.

Moreover, Djokovic also boycotted an on-court interview after his fourth-round win as a protest against Aussie reporter Tony Jones. He also found himself amid a controversy after many tennis experts claimed that his injury during the quarterfinal match wasn't genuine.

While Tiley will have to get clearance from the state government and the Olympic Parks Trust in a bid to get a statue for Djokovic, the call received mixed reactions from fans.

“He deserves it but the funny thing is that in the country where the most grand slams don’t love you, a statue does not replace the love of the public,” one tennis fan wrote on X.

Another said: “No thank you” and “Totally unnecessary”.

“A totally deserving and brilliant idea. No matter where you stand on liking him or not, it cannot be disputed that Djokovic absolutely deserves to be commemorated at Melbourne Park with a statue,” one user wrote on X.

“It is something the Serbian truly deserves, having already won the tournament 10 times, as well as reaching the semi-finals this year, with further opportunities to lift another trophy and expand his collection. There must be a statue of Djokovic there,” another said.