'It would be premature to share then' Australian Open organisers hints at 'big' farewell plan for Novak Djokovic

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has revealed that they are already planning to give Serbia’s Novak Djokovic a grand farewell whenever the time comes. The 38-year-old, who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, holds the record for winning the first Grand Slam of the year the most times in the Open era.

He has lifted the Australian Open 10 times, the most recent of which came in the 2023 edition, where he defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 7-6. This year, Djokovic’s journey in the competition ended at the semifinals stag,e where he was forced to retire against Germany’s Alexander Zverev.

Australian Open tournament director Tiley has recently spoken to Claytenis, where he shared that the organisers are already planning a grand farewell for Djokovic, something similar to what the Roland Garros did for the former world number one Rafael Nadal, who was given a tribute for winning the French Open 14 times. Tiley stated that it would be ‘premature’ to share the plans and also stated that he does not see Djokovic retiring anytime soon.

“All I can say is it’s going to be big,” said Tiley about a potential farewell for Djokovic. “I hope it’s for a long time still, though. He’s a great player and I would like to see him play longer. He still does extremely well. When the time comes… we do have some ideas! It would be premature to share them now. I don’t see Novak retiring any time soon. He’s at the top of his game. We’re more focused on having a great event in 2026. The US Open did a brilliant job, a really good event, and we’re looking forward to upping the ante even more.”

Covid-19 was the biggest challenge, says Tiley

During the interview, Tiley was asked about what the biggest challenge he faced was in his tenure as the head of the Australian Open. In response to that, Tiley named Covid-19, the pandemic which lasted more than two years, during which millions ended up losing their lives as well.

“I’m very fortunate to be in this role, it’s a privilege,” said Tiley. “I love the relationships – stakeholder management, relationships with customers, with the team, everything, but I particularly enjoy the connection with the players. It’s like a big matrix of problem-solving every single day, but if you build strong relationships, you can have success. COVID [was the biggest issue to deal with], for sure. We had the lockdowns, the whole situation with the visas and vaccinations, that was the biggest issue. Also, we’ve had bushfires that have taken away from the visibility of the event. Dirty rain and dust storms, so a lot of mess at the venue. High winds, several days of extreme heat, monsoon rains… There are many variables, this is what’s most challenging for us.”

This year, the ongoing US Open has been played in two separate parts. The first part featured a three-day standalone mixed doubles event, which featured some of the biggest names in tennis, especially in the singles category, mainly because of the prize money of $1 million at stake. The decision was widely appreciated as it garnered a lot of attention. Tiley was asked whether the Australian Open would try to follow in the footsteps of the US Open. In response to that, Tiley appreciated the decision taken by the US Open organisers but confirmed that the Australian Open authorities currently have no such plans in place.

“I think it [US Open mixed doubles] was great,” said Tiley. “We’re not doing it because we’ve got other things going on at the time, but what they did was fantastic. This is what we need to do in tennis – more different, new things. Men and women playing together is a great opportunity to showcase that. We’ve got the United Cup, which is ten days of mixed tennis, and that is our marquee event when it comes to men and women playing together.”