How Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic tried to sneak his way into Adelaide International as teen

Australian tennis legend Mark Woodforde has lifted the lid on a time when a teenage Novak Djokovic tried to sneak into the Adelaide International, with the Serbian star insisting he will one day be world number one.

Woodforde, a former 17-time Grand Slam champion, was commenting on the event on Monday when he recalled the time Djokovic walked into his office before qualifying began and asked for a wild card ticket.

By this time, Woodforde had recently retired from tennis and had become Co-Tournament Director of the Adelaide International along with Peter Johnston.

Mark Woodforde has lifted the lid on a time when a teenage Novak Djokovic (pictured in 2005) tried to sneak into the Adelaide International, with the Serbian star insisting he will one day be world number one.

Mark Woodforde (pictured with another Australian tennis star, Nicole Bradtke), a former 17-time Grand Slam doubles champion, was commenting on the event on Monday when he recalled the time Djokovic walked into his office before qualifying began and asked for a wild card. entrance

‘The [Djokovich] introduced himself to both Peter Johnston and me and said, ‘I’m happy to be here in Adelaide and I was hoping they would give me a wild card,'” Woodforde said.

‘Peter and I looked at each other, we had already given our wild cards in the main draw. Novak said, ‘Because one day I’m going to become world number 1 and I think this would help me get started,’ and we just smiled and said, ‘Unfortunately, we don’t have the space.’

Djokovic is shown celebrating his victory at the Australian Open in 2021

‘Dejan, who I’ve known for several years, just said, ‘He really thinks he’s going to be No. 1’ and we just had to apologize and say we had to book some of the wild cards at the time for the Aussies.

“I told him, ‘We’re going to try to get you into the rankings at least,’ and he said, ‘But I want to be in the main draw because I’m going to be No. 1 in the world.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t even qualify him that year, but that’s the belief that Novak Djokovic had at a very young age, that he was going to achieve great things.”

Djokovic (pictured at the 2021 Australian Open) meant what he said and returned to Adelaide in 2007 at age 19, where he took the title, beating Australian Chris Guccione.

Djokovic meant what he said and returned to Adelaide in 2007 at age 19, where he took the title, beating Australian Chris Guccione.

The Serb is now a 91-time singles champion as a professional, and the following year he won the first of his nine Australian Open titles.

He had hoped to hit double figures by 2022, but was deported from Australia over his vaccination status and subsequently received a three-year ban from the country, which has since been overturned.

Djokovic (pictured with wife Jelena) kicks off his singles campaign at the Adelaide Open on Tuesday and hopes to prove more success

Djokovic kicks off his singles campaign at the Adelaide Open on Tuesday and hopes to taste more success.

“The good memories and the good history that I have on Australian soil give me a lot of positive emotions and the belief that I can do it again, that I can go far,” he told the media.

“It’s a country where I’ve had tremendous success in my career, particularly Melbourne, by far my most successful Grand Slam, I’ve won it nine times.”

‘Like I said, it’s a great place. People in Adelaide and Australia in general love tennis, they love sports. It is a sporting nation. Hopefully, we’re going to get a lot of people watching and we can have a good time.