"Novak Djokovic is not the Pope";"Isn't liked the way Federer & Nadal are" - Fans react to Serb's possibility of getting statue at Australian Open

Famous Australian sports broadcaster Gerard Whateley recently shot down the possibility of a Novak Djokovic statue at the Australian Open nudged forward by tournament director Craig Tiley. The tennis community on social media seemingly agreed with the nature of Whateley's comments, going by their reaction.

On Monday (January 27), Tiley told News Corp that he had approved the construction of a statue that will celebrate the 10-time champion Djokovic's legacy at the Australian Open. Famous broadcaster and journalist Gerard Whateley, however, inferred that the above move would suffer from a negative reception from the local public.

The Aussie also justified the French Open organizers building a statue for 14-time champion Rafael Nadal, claiming that Nadal was adored in Paris, unlike the 24-time Major winner in Melbourne.

"There's a statue of Nadal at Roland Garros and it speaks to the love the Parisians have for Nadal. He is loved in that city. Novak is not loved here. He can be admired for his acheivements, but he is not loved," Gerard Whateley said (via SEN).

Novak and Melbourne Park byu/Overall_One_2595 intennis

Many fans on Reddit also share the same opinion as Whateley on the topic. One fan asserted that Novak Djokovic being celebrated with a statue at the Australian Open was unnecessary.

"He is an athlete after all. He's not the Pope, he's not an activist, he's not a beloved community figure. He's a tennis player," they wrote on Reddit.

Comment byu/Overall_One_2595 from discussion intennis

Another fan, meanwhile, claimed that Djokovic was a much more "polarizing" figure than his archrivals Nadal and Federer, which might contribute to the Melbourne population not taking well to his statue.

"Nole is not universally liked the way Federer and Nadal are he's much more polarising the same reason many of his fans love him is why many others don't," they wrote.

Comment byu/Overall_One_2595 from discussion intennis

Here are a few more reactions from Reddit:

"Only statue Wimbledon has is of Fred Perry and multiple male and female players have won Wimbledon more than 3 times. I don’t think a statue should really be something that’s considered necessary," one fan wrote.

"Is it really about Parisians loving Nadal for him to get a statute or was it about his almost unbeatable form for 18 years?" another fan claimed.

"From what I gather living in Melbourne is that most people dislike him after his covid behaviour," one fan suggested.

"He's never getting a statue here. Mainly cause he's not Australian lol," another claimed.

"This may be a good thing. Nadal's statue at RG does not look much better than that infamous statue of CR7," one fan wrote.

"Yeah, I really don't see them putting a statue of him in Melbourne Park," another reiterated.

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Novak Djokovic gets booed after semifinal retirement against Alexander Zverev at Australian Open 2025

Novak Djokovic retires against Alexander Zverev in Australian Open SFs (Source: Getty)

Novak Djokovic's bid for a record-breaking 25th Major title at the Australian Open ended on an unfortunate note last week. The Serb received jeers from a small section of the Melbourne crowd after he was forced to retire midway through his semifinal encounter against Alexander Zverev.

The 37-year-old had previously been seen clutching his right knee during his quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz and even went through a medical time-out then. The 10-time Australian Open champion tried to prolong his fate in his next match but threw in a retirement citing knee injury after dropping the first set of his semifinal match in a tiebreaker.