mobile app bar

‘Forgiving’ Novak Djokovic’s Warm Reception of Son of Legendary Athlete Who Had Blasted Him for the Deportation Situation in 2022 Warms Hearts of Fans

Atharva Upasani
Published

'Forgiving' Novak Djokovic's Warm Reception of Son of Legendary Athlete Who Had Blasted Him for the Deportation Situation in 2022 Warms Hearts of Fans

Novak Djokovic has been entertaining the Australian crowd before the start of the Australian Open. The Serbian superstar participated in various sports like basketball, gymnastics and cricket at the exhibition match before the tournament. Novak Djokovic was joined by many famous sportspersons such as Steven Smith and NBA’s Alan Williams.

Novak Djokovic tried his hand at cricket, a British Commonwealth-dominated sport and batted while another guest, Jackson Warne had the privilege to have a bowl at him. Warne bowled to Novak Djokovic, who tried batting at the Rod Laver Arena. The Australian youngster’s ball was too good and Novak Djokovic completely missed it, which is equivalent to a strike in baseball. However, the Serbian switched his bat with a racquet for the next bowl and slammed the ball into the crowd.

Now, it is interesting to note that Jackson Warne is a reality TV star as well as the son of a legendary Australian sportsperson named Shane Warne. At one point in his cricketing career, Shane Warne endorsed Nike and got to meet the likes of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods for promotional and endorsement purposes, making the Australian the first perhaps to take the British sport to a global level

Novak Djokovic shared the stage with Shane Warne’s son for the first time after having spent time with Shane Warne too in the past. The duo were seen together at the ‘A night with Novak’ event in Melbourne in 2017. Shane Warne was seen giving Novak Djokovic some bowling tips and the duo had a great time. However, Shane Warne unfortunately passed away in 2022 at the age of 52.

In fact, Shane Warne was also the first cricketer to bring cricket to the USA in the mid-2010s by playing a 3-match series at the Yankees Stadium in New York City.

Fans dig out an old Shane Warne tweet after Novak Djokovic participates in Australian Open exhibition

Ironically, Shane Warne was one huge critic of Novak Djokovic in 2022 and fans recently dug out a tweet from the late Australian discussing the World No.1’s controversial deportation before that year’s Australian Open tournament. In the tweet, Shane Warne agreed that Djokovic was a great player but said that he was right to be deported.

Now, fans are praising Novak Djokovic’s positive attitude regarding the whole matter. The Serbian has seemingly let bygones be bygones as he was seen playing cricket with his son, Jackson. Now, the Serbian will look to win a record 11th Australian Open title in Melbourne.

About the author

Atharva Upasani

Atharva Upasani

instagram-iconlinkedin-icon

Possessing a Masters degree in Sports Journalism, Atharva is a Tennis Journalist at The SportsRush. Atharva has come a long way from just being a tennis enthusiast to writing more than 300 articles on the sport. He has the 2012 Australian Open final to thank for cultivating within him a strong interest in tennis in which Novak Djokovic beat his favorite player, Rafael Nadal. Besides Nadal, his favorite athletes are cricketer Virat Kohli and Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes.

Share this article