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Novak Djokovic is a well-known name to everyone and, according to many, perhaps the best tennis player of all time. In that respect, maybe he could get a field at the Australian Open that will be named after him. His fans have already concluded that the job is done, so the news is presented on social networks as if everything is over.
Craig Tiley, director of the Australian Open, is still not sure if Novak Djokovic will have the honor of having one of the stadiums in the "land of the kangaroos" named after him. Djokovic recently reached his 24th Grand Slam title, 10 of which he won in Australia, the last one this year, when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 3:0 in the final.
There is no doubt that Djokovic and Australia have a special relationship, but also a stormy past, considering that he was deported from there in 2022 due to the decision not to be vaccinated.
The Australian Open does not own the courts on which it is played, namely all the courts are rented
In the "Rock and Roll Tennis Podcast", Tyli tried to explain what stands in the way of the stadium being named after Djokovic.
“You're the second person to ask me that today. You see, the naming of the arena is not my decision or Tennis Australia's because we… A lot of people don't realize that Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the US Open own the courts where the tournaments are played.
We rent them, the Government of Victoria owns the property and we are fortunate that they invest in them. However, we don't own them," Tiley said.
He also explained how the process of preparing the tournament is going. "We start preparations in September, move in in December, prepare everything for the event and move out in mid-February, and then concerts and other events are held there throughout the year.
There aren't those tennis courts. "We would like to own them because we think we would have more creativity in organizing more tennis events throughout the year," Tiley added. He pointed out that he wants Novak to be rewarded for all his successes in Australia, but it is still not clear in what way.
If the Australian Open wants to set a positive example for children, it should implement this plan. This would show that they take care of their biggest names, so the youngsters would also see that it pays to be the best because it is appreciated. It remains time to see how this case will end, but no one should have anything against such an idea.