Novak Djokovic needed all of the positive energy he's received in Adelaide to survive Quentin Halys

HIGHLIGHTS: Djokovic toughs out win over 64th-ranked Halys

“It must feel like stepping onto a home court for Novak Djokovic,” the commentator in Adelaide said, as the former No. 1 walked out for his second-round match on Thursday. “So many Serbian flags and so much support here.”

What a difference a year makes, right? Twelve months ago, Djokovic was public enemy No. 1 in Australia. The unvaccinated star was considered such a threat to the nation’s health that the government confined him to a detention center for refugees before sending him packing, ostensibly for three years. The saga of his deportation was front-page news around the world.

Fast forward a year and all—or most—seems to be forgiven. Djokovic’s three-year ban was rescinded, he was granted a visa, and he has been given a traditional celebrity’s welcome in Adelaide. On Thursday the Serbian flags flew, the “No-vak” chants reverberated, and, as the match neared its conclusion, the kids in the crowd sprinted toward the court to get in position for an autograph.

“All the fans here this year, and particularly of the Serbian community, [have] been very nice to me and to my team and making us feel very welcome,” Djokovic said. “I’m trying to use that energy that they are giving me to play my best tennis and win a match.”

Djokovic needed that energy in his second-round contest with Quentin Halys. The Frenchman is ranked just 64th, but he can hammer the ball, and he did it well enough on Adelaide’s fast surface to jump out to a 5-2 lead. Djokovic responded in his usual way: By locking down and chasing after everything. In his two years away from Australia, he doesn’t seem to have lost even a half-step.

Despite coming back to win the first set, though, Djokovic was never quite out of the woods. Halys saved two match points at 4-5 in the second set, and led 4-3 in the tiebreaker. That’s when Djokovic finally dug into his deepest shot-making reserves and pulled out a vintage open-stance backhand pass that landed at Halys’ feet, and essentially won him the match.

“It was difficult to break his serve because he was hitting his spots and he was being very precise, and big serves, as well,” Djokovic said. “Proud to be able to overcome a challenge like this. Winning two tiebreakers is always great, I think, for confidence level at the beginning of the year.”

Since his arrival in Australia, Djokovic has, not surprisingly, tried to keep the conversation firmly in the present tense.

“I can say it was different coming into Australia this year than any other year certainly, because of the events 12 months ago, but at the same time, 12 months is quite a long time, as well,” he said earlier this week. “Already it’s behind me. I’ve moved on.”

More importantly, the world has moved on, at least for today. Last year Australia, like every country, was dealing with the new Omicron wave of the virus. In the 12 months since, that wave has subsided, and we’ve also come to understand, many of us from experience, that while vaccination will likely protect us from the most serious effects of the Covid, it won’t keep us from getting it in the first place. Because of that, the unvaccinated aren’t the pariahs they once were.

“The people that I encountered on the beach or in restaurants or wherever I was kind of roaming around the city or of course here at the tennis, everybody was very welcoming,” Djokovic said of his time in Australia this year.

I can say it was different coming into Australia this year than any other year certainly, because of the events 12 months ago, but at the same time, 12 months is quite a long time, as well. Already it’s behind me. I’ve moved on. Novak Djokovic

Still, it doesn’t mean he’ll be welcome everywhere. Even as he returned to Australia this week, news has come that he may not be allowed into the U.S. for the spring Masters 1000s in Indian Wells and Miami.

“What can I do? Nothing,” Djokovic said when he was asked about the U.S. ban. “That’s it. You know my position. It is what it is.”

Djokovic’s vaccination stance hasn’t been vindicated just because the vaccines worked in a different way than we initially believed. Australia wasn’t wrong to make him persona non grata last year and, as strange as the turnaround may seem, the country’s fans aren’t wrong to cheer him this year. Times change, but Djokovic’s game, and his ability to move past his setbacks, goes on.