Daily Dose of Social Media: Novak Djokovic endorses Elon Musk’s comments on media bias, Naomi Osaka looks back on Aussie Open

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, Novak Djokovic steals the spotlight after a special encounter with his 'first ever fan' before heading to the Rod Laver Arena wearing a t-shirt gifted by a fan from years ago. After controversially refusing an on-court interview following his victory, unexpected support came from Elon Musk, which was acknowledged by the Serbian.

On the other hand, Naomi Osaka reflects after her injury exit from the Australian Open, and Carlos Alcaraz sent his support to his fourth-round rival Jack Draper, who also exited the tournament due to injury while they were facing each other.

Djokovic's heartwarming reunion with longtime fan

Novak Djokovic had a special encounter with a longtime fan during the Australian Open. The 24-time Grand Slam champion reunited with perhaps his oldest supporter, Jan, and his wife during his Sunday match against Tomas Machac. The 10-time Aussie Open champion greeted the couple with a warm hug as presenter Barbara Schett narrated the story of their first meeting.

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Jan and his wife first saw Djokovic 20 years ago at the 2005 Australian Open, when a 17-year-old Djokovic made his Grand Slam main draw debut, facing none other than former World No. 1 Marat Safin (ranked No. 4 at the time), who went on to win the tournament. It was a one-sided match, with the experienced Safin prevailing 6-0, 6-2, 6-1, but Jan predicted Djokovic’s future success and took a photo with the teenage Djokovic.

This time, Jan was personally invited by Djokovic to watch him play in the fourth round, and the couple gifted him a shirt with the photo from 20 years ago printed on it. The Serbian was visibly moved and wore the shirt throughout his warm-up routine, even walking onto Rod Laver Arena with it.

“It was surprising. He has been my fan for the last 20 years. I met him and his wife exactly 20 years ago when I first qualified for the Australian Open in 2005. I am very pleased to have seen him again, and he even gave me a shirt,” Djokovic later revealed.

Elon Musk defends Djokovic's media boycott at AO

On the other hand, Djokovic’s victory was marked by his refusal to give an on-court interview, as he disagreed with comments made two days earlier by presenter Tony Jones on Channel 9, an Australian television network.

"The reason why I chose not to do that is because a few days ago, a famous sports journalist here from Australia, who works for a main broadcaster of the Australian Open, Channel Nine, decided to mock Serbian fans, and he made insulting and offensive comments toward me. So I was hoping he was going to apologize in public, which he hasn’t done yet; neither did Channel Nine," explained Djokovic.

Interestingly, this caught the attention of Elon Musk, the owner of X and Tesla, who shared Djokovic’s video explaining the situation and commented, "It’s way better just to talk to the public directly than go through the negativity filter of legacy media." Djokovic himself replied to Musk’s post, appreciating his words. "Indeed 🙌," wrote the World No. 7.

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Alcaraz advances with classy message of support to Draper

Djokovic’s victory propels him into the quarterfinals, where he will face World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, one of his toughest rivals in recent years. This marks the first time the two will meet before a semifinal round. Since 2020, their head-to-head stands at 4-3 in Djokovic’s favour (2-2 in finals, 2-1 in Grand Slam tournaments). Their most recent encounter was in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games final, where Djokovic finally claimed the coveted gold medal that had eluded him throughout his career.

Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals after defeating World No. 15 Jack Draper — or rather, advancing after Draper was forced to retire due to injury at the end of the second set. The four-time Grand Slam champion led 7-5, 6-1 in a match that featured a fiercely contested first set before Draper’s physical issues took a toll, overshadowing the contest and leading to his early exit.

After the match, Alcaraz shared a message of support for his colleague, acknowledging Draper’s unfortunate setback: “You will be where you deserve. Get well soon, Jack! 🤞🏻🥲 Quarters 🔜,” he wrote on social media alongside a photo of the two embracing at the net after the match.

'Sunflower Summer': Osaka looks back on Aussie Open

Naomi Osaka begins to move past her unfortunate injury-induced exit at the Australian Open, where she had to withdraw after losing the first set to Belinda Bencic (6-7). The match was of a high standard, with the Japanese star delivering an impressive performance at that stage of the tournament. The 2-time Aussie Open champion had defeated formidable opponents such as Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova along the way, but an injury brought her journey to an early end.

This week, Osaka shared a series of photos from her time in Melbourne, including one with her compatriot and former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori. "Some outtakes from sunflower summer 🌻," she captioned.

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Luke Saville bids farewell to professional tennis

Luke Saville ended his career this Sunday following a loss in the men’s doubles draw at the Australian Open. The local player partnered with Li Tu for his final professional appearance, losing to Andre Goransson and Sem Verbeek (6-4, 6-3). Despite the defeat, the tournament organisers had prepared a farewell for the 2020 doubles finalist and former doubles world No. 23.

With his wife, former world No. 20 Daria Saville, in attendance, Luke received a gift from Tennis Australia and delivered a heartfelt speech to the fans present at the stadium. "But I'd like to thank Craig (Tiley) and all of Tennis Australia, everyone here at the AO for a fantastic presentation and all the support you've given me throughout my career. I definitely wouldn't be here without you guys, so thank you. I'm truly blessed to have so many fantastic and influential people with me throughout my career."

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