Djokovic apologises to fans after his Adelaide exhibition

Novak Djokovic pulled a curious sequence of actions that had many fans worried initially before calming everyone down with a post-match apology.

Novak Djokovic played an exhibition match in Adelaide against Jannik Sinner but, as Novak Djokovic things go lately, it didn't go without controversy. First, the Serbian pulled out of the match 15 minutes before it started with Filip Krajinovic taking his place. It left many worried as to his status and possible availability for the Australian. After the first set finished he did emerge to play the 2nd set and after winning it 6-3 he explained what had happened:

“I’m sorry that I didn’t step on the court from the beginning. I had to do some treatment with my physio and I wasn’t feeling my best the last couple of days,” Djokovic explained on-court after the match. I didn’t know how I was going to react, but I wanted to play, I wanted to get out here."

He then proceeded to thank the fans for attending highlighting the joy he felt playing in front of a large crowd after many months:

“Thank you so much for making our day and making our year. We didn’t play in front of this big a crowd in 12 months so this is something very special."

In the interview after the match and apology he was asked about his blistered hand:

“It’s not easy, but it’s part of what we do. We’re professional athletes, we learn over the years to play with the pain. It’s just a question of whether the pain is bearable or not."

Novak finished off the interview by once more explaining why he was hesitant to step out without seeing a physio:

“So obviously, coming off a hard training block and having the ATP Cup and Australian Open around the corner, you don’t want to risk it too much. But the emotion was so strong in me to come out on the court today, seeing almost full stands, I just had to play. That’s it, I had to play.”

Check out the full apology below: