{"id":2104830,"date":"2026-08-21T13:00:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T10:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2104830"},"modified":"2026-08-21T13:00:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T10:00:59","slug":"novak-djokovic-lifts-lid-on-bitterness-he-felt-at-australian-open-and-it-wasnt-the-deportation-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2104830","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic lifts lid on &#8216;bitterness&#8217; he felt at Australian Open &#8211; and it wasn&#8217;t the deportation scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Novak Djokovic lifts lid on \u2018bitterness\u2019 he felt at Australian Open \u2013 and it wasn\u2019t the deportation scandal<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/richie-mills\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Richie Mills                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"21 Aug 2026 2:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"21 Aug 2026 2:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1787317259\"><br \/>\n                            21 Aug 2026 2:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a 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<\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Novak Djokovic lifts lid on \u2018bitterness\u2019 he felt at Australian Open \u2013 and it wasn\u2019t the deportation scandal\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Novak-Djokovic-delivers-his-speech-at-the-Australian-Open-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Novak Djokovic delivers his speech at the Australian Open\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Novak Djokovic delivers his speech at the Australian Open                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/novak-djokovic\">Novak Djokovic<\/a> has revealed he felt \u201cbitterness\u201d towards the Australian Open crowd when he got booed for retiring at last year\u2019s tournament through injury.<\/p>\n<p>The Serbian put in a performance for the ages in his four-set quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/australian-open\">Australian Open<\/a>, particularly as he suffered a muscle tear and dropped the first set.<\/p>\n<p>But the then 37-year-old roared back and took out the young Spaniard in stunning style, setting up an intriguing last-four clash with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/alexander-zverev\">Alexander Zverev<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/novak-djokovic\">Djokovic<\/a>, the quarter-final encounter took its toll and after losing a lengthy first set, the 24-time major winner decided he could not continue against the German.<\/p>\n<p>Despite winning this tournament on 10 occasions, boos rang out across Rod Laver Arena as he exited the court, prompting Djokovic to do a sarcastic thumbs-up gesture.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>More Tennis News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/andre-agassi-huge-carlos-alcaraz-claim-novak-djokovic-roger-federer-rafael-nadal\">Agassi makes stunning Alcaraz claim about Djokovic, Federer and Nadal<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/us-open-withdrawal-list-2026-14-stars-out\">All 14 withdrawals from 2026 US Open as Jannik Sinner still in doubt<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Three years prior, Djokovic was deported from Australia after a losing a court bid to stay in the country to play in the 2022 tournament in Melbourne.<\/p>\n<p>Judges rejected a challenge by the Serb, who decided against getting the coronavirus vaccine, after the government cancelled his visa on \u201chealth and good order\u201d grounds.<\/p>\n<p>In Djokovic\u2019s new \u2018The Wolf in Winter\u2019 documentary, he called the decision \u201cso political\u201d. So when he won the in 2023, the tears and pent up energy all came out.<\/p>\n<p>And just when it looked like he had got back into the good books of Australians in 2025, the reaction to his retirement against Zverev stung.<\/p>\n<p>He said in the documentary, \u201cI felt bitterness when I was exiting the court with that atmosphere and people booing. But it is what it is. In some way I understand that people want a match; they\u2019ve paid for the tickets, they want to come and see you perform \u2013 I get it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know in my heart if I am able to leave it all out there on the court, particularly aged 37 in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, I would do it because it might be the last semi-final of my career, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I feel like it\u2019s not possible to do what I do on the level that is necessary to be able to play five sets potentially then I am not going to do it, as simple as that. I don\u2019t expect all the people to understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ByVdkbSLMvQ\" target=\"_blank\">9 News Australia<\/a> this week, Djokovic stressed that he had \u201cmany more positives\u201d memories than bad ones Down Under.<\/p>\n<p>And even after that \u201cdifficult and challenging\u201d year in 2022, Djokovic said he didn\u2019t \u201chold any grudges\u201d,\u00a0 it was a valuable experience for him, and he always looks forward to returning to Australia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WHAT ELSE? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/us-open\/andy-roddick-carlos-alcaraz-us-open-injury-prediction-shock-return\">Carlos Alcaraz: Andy Roddick urges Spaniard to make key US Open schedule change after injury verdict<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Novak Djokovic lifts lid on \u2018bitterness\u2019 he felt at Australian Open \u2013 and it wasn\u2019t the deportation scandal Richie Mills 21 Aug 2026 2:00 PM Novak Djokovic delivers his speech at the Australian Open Novak Djokovic has revealed he felt \u201cbitterness\u201d towards the Australian Open crowd when he got booed for retiring at last year\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2104830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2104830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104830\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2104830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2104830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2104830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}