Novak Djokovic won his opening-round match against Roberto Carballes Baena, making his Australian Open comeback memorable.

After being banned from Australia more than a year ago for violating Covid-19 regulations, Novak Djokovic was greeted warmly upon his return to Melbourne.

The Serbian thanked the crowd for a “welcoming reception he could only dream of” after he made the perfect return to the Australian Open with a victory over Roberto Carballes Baena.

In his first Grand Slam encounter in Melbourne since his contentious deportation in 2022, Djokovic triumphed 6-3 6-4 6-0.

With flags and banners flying all over Rod Laver Arena, the 35-year-old tennis legend entered the arena to raucous applause.

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Chants of “Nole! Nole! Nole!” also rang around the 15,000-capacity arena after Djokovic won crucial points in a one-sided first-round match against Spain’s Carballes Baena.

“I couldn’t ask for a better start to the tournament,” the fourth-seed Serbian star said.

“Thank you for giving me such a welcoming reception that I could only dream of,”he told the packed crowd.

“I feel really happy that I’m back here in Australia and on the court where I have had the biggest success in my career.

“Definitely this court is the most special court in my life.”

Recall, Djokovic’s visa was revoked by the Australian authorities because of his Covid-19 vaccination status, preventing him from participating in the Australian Open last year.

On his return to Australia earlier in January, he had already gotten a lot of encouragement from fans.

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Serbian professional tennis player Novak Djokovic has finally claimed his 90th career ATP Tour title by easily defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Astana Open in Kazakhstan.

The Serb won 6-3, 6-4 in just 76 minutes, securing his spot at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, in November.

Djokovic won the Tel Aviv Open in Israel the week previous, and his victory at the Astana Open marked his second straight triumph.

The victories on consecutive days mark Djokovic’s impressive comeback to the Tour after missing nearly three months and the entire North American hard-court swing, including the US Open, due to his lack of immunizations.

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Behind Rafael Nadal, Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, and Ivan Lendl in terms of Tour titles won, the 21-time grand slam champion is in fifth place all-time.

Djokovic will undoubtedly enter the prestigious ATP Finals as the favourite, despite falling to seventh in the world rankings due to his absence from tournaments in North America.

After the match, Djokovic told the ATP, “I’m just very grateful and blessed to be able to play this well at this stage of my life,” 

“You know, 35 is not the same as 25, but I think the experience probably in these kinds of big matches and big occasions helps as well to approach mentally in the right way.”

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