Novak Djokovic won his season opener in Adelaide in dominant fashion and then played casual football with his team members. On Tuesday, Djokovic kicked off his 2023 season with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Constant Lestienne in the first round of the Adelaide International.
After beating Lestienne, Djokovic was apparently in a very good mood and played a bit of soccer to relax. Here is a video posted by sports journalist Sasa Ozmo.
#Djokovic playing soccer to relax with his team after the game.
pic.twitter.com/JTPlzm9xf7 — Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) January 3, 2023
Additionally, Ozmo posted a video of Djokovic missing a great chance to score a goal.
Missed a great opportunity here @DjokerNole 😂⚽️ pic.twitter.com/lwhg9EaYOa — Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) January 3, 2023
Djokovic grateful to the Adelaide community
Last week, Djokovic landed in Adelaide.
Since then, Djokovic has received a lot of support. Djokovic has enjoyed a warm welcome in Australia so far and is grateful for how the Adelaide crowd has treated him so far. “I can say that it was different coming to Australia this year than any other year, certainly because of the events of 12 months ago, but at the same time, 12 months is also quite a long time.
He’s already behind me. I have moved on. I really want to come because I always play very well and probably my best tennis throughout my career on Australian soil. I arrived early, almost a week before my first game.
It’s a long time. I don’t actually remember when I got to Australia this early, so I had a lot of time to adjust to the time zone and the time difference, and just, I guess, adjust to whatever is waiting for me here, waiting for me here.
Like I said, from day one people have been very kind and generous to me and my team, so overall it’s been a great experience so far,» Djokovic said after the match. In Adelaide, Djokovic hopes to make a run deep and begin his season with his second Adelaide title.After Adelaide, Djokovic goes to Melbourne to chase a record tenth Australian Open title.
