'That's my oldest friend here': Surprising reason Novak Djokovic won cheers from Melbourne crowd
Updated . First published at
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic has sparked cheers for countless reasons during his unmatched love affair with Rod Laver Arena.
Much of that applause has come courtesy of his racquet while racking up a ridiculous 10 Australian Open titles.
That racquet was again in good hands on Thursday as men's tennis' GOAT breezed to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 romp over Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli to advance to the third round.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts. Getty
With no genuine contest to unpack, on-court interviewer Barbara Schett went into her bag of tricks instead.
Up flashed a photo of Djokovic with a tree.
"That's my oldest friend here in Melbourne," the 38-year-old Serbian explained.
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Novak Djokovic with his favourite tree. Instagram
"He's been there, always, to heal my wounds, to basically give me company when I didn't want anybody else's company. It's a beautiful connection, nature is such a powerful ally.
"We sometimes forget about it in this fast-paced life. Melbourne is an incredible city but for me, my by far favourite place is Botanical Gardens."
The Melbourne crowd were putty in Djokovic's hands now as he went in for the smash.
"You guys have one of the nicest parks in the centre of any town that I've seen," he said, to increasingly loud cheers.
"That tree right there is in Botanical Gardens. It is a Brazilian fig tree. I'm not going to tell more secrets about it but we have a friendship that is going over 20 years."
Djokovic is the fourth seed in Melbourne, behind Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev.
The match amounted to little more than a training session.
"The maestro outwits Maestrelli. The world's greatest ever tennis player who can speak seven languages. A unique superstar," Mark Petchey said in commentary.
Djokovic didn't want to waste any energy with scorching temperatures forecast for his next match.
"It is going to be hotter than Alice Springs' asphalt on Saturday," Petchey said.
