Novak Djokovic’s journey to redemption a well-worn path in the sport - Editorial

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after victory against Portugal's Jaime Faria during their men's singles match on day four of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. Photo / AFP

He is – if the numbers are to be believed – the greatest tennis player ever to swing a racquet, but Novak Djokovic’s pathway to redemption in the eyes of sports fans has been a five-set, tiebreaker of a long journey.

In the early years of this career, the Serbian ace’s uncourtly power left tennis fans largely cold. For some time before his arrival, the top end of the men’s tennis landscape had been painted as an arm-wrestle between rival factions: the urbane Roger Federer and the grunting Rafael Nadal variously dashing and slugging it out.

As the Swiss and the Spaniard squared up, the most convenient measuring yardstick for their greatness was Australian legend Rod Laver, who won 11 major singles titles in a career that ended in 1979. Today, Djokovic’s statistics (principally 24 Open titles) have gone past all three of those men (Nadal bagged 22, Federer 20).

During the Covid-19 outbreak, Djokovic dabbled at the fringes of anti-vaxx culture. In 2022, he was memorably vague about the terms of his arrival in Melbourne to play at his favourite tournament.

The 37-year-old now finds the public warming to him in his late-career bloom. The redemption arc of Djokovic might surprise those who sneered at the Serb in seasons past, but it’s a well-worn path in the sporting world.

In tennis, Andre Agassi was once regarded as a long-haired goof with a flair for the dramatic and an eye for the ladies. Latterly, open about his frailties and failings, Agassi slipped comfortably into the role of respected elder statesman — as did the former firebrand John McEnroe before him.

Such a redemption arc is nothing new to Kiwi sports fans. There was a time when Brendon McCullum seemed a tad too Australian in his tone and manner. One particular run out of Muttiah Muralitharan felt utterly out of sorts for our national character. As McCullum’s view of the world — and his sport — mellowed, so, too, did the nation’s view of him. It was a transition helped in no small part by the remarkable rise of the Black Caps under his captaincy.

While the country once fumed over the Zinan-or-Buck divide, there were few who hadn’t warmed to the chutzpah of Brooke by the time the great No.8 retired — even the most hardened Wayne Shelford loyalist

As Kiwis did with Zinzan, it’s perhaps time for Kiwis to rethink Novak. In sport, as in life, it’s heartening to think that we warm to characters we once found troubling as we — and they — grow older.