Tiley denies information that Djokovic is suing Tennis in Australian court

Tennis – ATP Team Official Presentation – The O2, London, UK – November 15, 2018 Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley at a press conference Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Couldridge / Files

MELBOURNE, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Australian Open general manager Craig Tiley said he did not believe Novak Djokovic would sue Tennis in Australia after being expelled and that he expected the world number one to return to play in the Grand Slam next year. .

Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open nine times, including the last three years, was not given a chance to defend his title when a federal court rejected his appeal to stay in the country and play in the tournament.

Reports have since been released that Djokovic was going to sue Tennis in Australia, but CEO Tiley denied it in an ABC interview on Sunday.

“No,” Major tournament director Tiley said when asked about the threat of legal action.

“There are a lot of reports coming up on a lot of things, but we’re in a position to focus on making the event happen right now and keep delivering a great event.”

While Djokovic could get a three-year travel ban from his deportation to Australia, Tiley said he believes the 20-time Grand Slam winner will be in Melbourne Park next year.

“Obviously he has to play this year, but that’s his intention,” he added. – She is, after all, number one in the world and loves the Australian Open.

Tiley blamed a communication error with the federal government for the problems that led to Djokovic being kicked out of Australia.

“It was an incredibly challenging environment,” he said.

“One or two communication bits do not specify all the amounts of communication that continued leading to the event.

“We knew we were going to have a difficult season, and that’s why there was a lot of contradiction and complexity in the information.”

Tiley also downplayed the case of Australian Nick Kyrgios, who claimed the coach and coach of world number one Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic had threatened to fight after their Friday match. Read more

Kyrgios and compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis shocked Mektic and Pavic in the live series, and Kyrgios said Saturday that the match’s bad mood spread to the players ’gym.

“I’ve talked to Nick and the team, and this is not uncommon, it’s not uncommon … Nick and Thanasi have moved on,” Tiley told Channel 9.

Tiley continued to emphasize the case: “We will look into it closely, we will continue to look at it.

“What’s not unusual and what’s not uncommon is a passion, but there are certainly rules and conditions that apply to how you react at the end of a match.”

Reported by Sudipto Ganguly and Michael Church in Hong Kong, edited by Daniel Wallis / Peter Rutherford

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