Novak Djokovic played against Jeremy Chardy in the first round of the Australian Open 2021. The Serbian registered a stunning 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 win and cruised to the second round of the tournament. The match was played at the Rod Laver Arena. Post this, Novak Djokovic delivered a heartwarming speech and said that he was happy to see the fans back into the stadium cheering for them.  Novak said that his heart fills with joy to see the fans in the stadium once again. In the speech, he further said that like all of us he hopes that the ongoing pandemic passes away soon. “This is the most number of people I’ve seen in the past 12 months on the tennis court.” Novak Djokovic’s Reported List of Demands Ahead of Australian Open 2021 Rejected by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

As we all know the sporting activities all over the world were brought to a halt after the COVID-19 pandemic. Many matches were conducted behind the stumps. In the speech, Novak further thanked the crowd for coming out in full support because there are a lot of times that things like these are taken or granted. Novak further hoped to have great games ahead in the tournament. The speech was shared by the official account of the Australian Open. Check out the tweet below:

With his, Novak extended his win record against Chardy to 14 matches. The biggest upset of the day came when French 10th seed Gael Monfils lost out to the first-round against Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori – world No.86.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 08, 2021 06:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).