Tennis: The preferential treatment that helped hand Novak Djokovic his 10th Australian Open title

Novak Djokovic hugs the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup in the locker-room after taking out the men's 2023 Australian Open title. Photo / AP

Novak Djokovic rightly claimed his 10th Australian Open and 22nd major title on Monday, but even he isn’t denying the fact that circumstances played very much in his favour.

Djokovic cruised past Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 7-6 7-6 overnight to cap off a tournament where the welcome mat rolled out for a man who was famously missing last year, looked more like a red carpet.

To be fair, Novak Djokovic has rarely played better than he has in the past fortnight. He put his own form up there with some of his most dominant seasons (2011 and 2015).

It wouldn’t have mattered if he had to play the whole tournament with a leg injury, no one was touching him in 2023. Especially with Rafael Nadal’s chances ruined by a bung hip.

But the preferential treatment he received certainly didn’t harm his chances.

Starved of big ticket names in the absence of Ash Barty, Nick Kyrgios, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka — and Nadal after he exited in the second round — Djokovic was handed a staggering seven consecutive night matches on Rod Laver Arena.

Tennis journalist Catherine Whittaker said the advantage the Serb gained was “extreme”.

“I don’t think there’s ever been anybody who played all seven matches at night before [at the Australian Open],” she told the Tennis Podcast.

“Doesn’t there reach a stage of the tournament where sporting integrity steps in?”

On the same podcast, English tennis journalist David Law added: “I think they [Australian Open officials] have gone out of their way to make him feel comfortable.”

But the scheduling was only half the story.

One of the great controversies of the first week of the tournament was the frustration of Nadal, and other players like Felix Auger-Aliassime, with the balls.

“They say [it] is the same, but the ball is worse quality, without a doubt,” Nadal said.

Auger-Aliassime described them as “terrible”.

And then there was cagey old Djokovic, who also spoke at length about the balls playing “slower”, which was leading to longer rallies, but never took a position on whether that was good or bad.

That is, until he’d won the tournament.

“You know, I said this [a] million times but I have to repeat it again — if I have to choose one court, conditions, balls, it would be night session Rod Laver with these balls,” the new world No 1 told Channel 9.

“I mean, for me, [it was] by far the best conditions that I’ve ever played in.”

To give Djokovic credit, he spoke out in support of Roger Federer when he was accused of the same treatment in Melbourne in 2018.

Frenchman Julien Benneteau at the time caused a stir when he attacked Open officials, while Federer was on a run of playing 12 out of 14 matches at night on Rod Laver Arena.

Djokovic, the world No 1 at the time, was being relegated to the day sessions as a result.

“In the end of the day, in a way he deserves the special treatment because he’s [a] six-time champion of [the] Australian Open and arguably the best player ever,” Djokovic said.

“I understand Julien’s point because sometimes it does seem that maybe certain players get more favoured year after year in certain tournaments. On the other side, you have to understand that Federer is a driving force of tennis in terms of revenue, in terms of attention.

“Julien and guys like him are also benefiting from tennis, because of Roger, because of what he has done for the sport.”