Novak Djokovic certainly has many friends in Melbourne.
Because of a record ten Australian Opens, a large Serbian community that is always with him, a tournament known as the "lucky slam" because of how everything is perfect for everyone and...
Well, because he's Novak Djokovic.
Okay, lots of people who want to be his friends.
In all this chaos, one person managed to stand out - a tree from the Melbourne Botanical Gardens.
"He's my oldest friend in Melbourne, he was always there to heal my wounds and keep me company when I didn't want anyone else's company," he said fourth-ranked tennis player in the world after defeating Italian Francesco Maestrelli 3:0 in sets (6:3, 6:2, 6:2).
They have, as he says, a beautiful connection and "a friendship that has lasted 20 years."
It is about the "Brazilian fig (Brazilian fig tree)," said Djokovic, emphasizing several times how the tree brings him peace and energy and which he often hugs.
“The Botanical Gardens is by far my favourite part of Melbourne,” says 38-year-old Djokovic.
"Nature is a powerful ally, but sometimes we forget about it in this modern, fast-paced life."
However, not much is known about this tree, except that it is located in the Royal Botanic Gardens, not far from the Australian Open complex.
In practice, this is the popular name for large and exotic figs that grow in tropical/Mediterranean climates, and which are from the ficus genus.
Ficus (Rubber plant) is a genus of about 900 species of trees, shrubs, and climbers in the family moraceae, many of which are commonly known as figs, writes Encyclopedia Britannica.
They originate primarily from tropical areas of East Asia, but are widespread throughout the tropics, and many species are tall forest trees that have strongly developed and branched roots, he adds.
In botanical literature, some of the species mentioned are: Ficus macrophylla, known as the Great Australian Fig, Ficus cyclophylla, Ficus goiana and many others.
"They are distinguished by a unique pollination system - each species is pollinated and develops within it by a fig wasp, specific to that species," writes Britannica.
It is not known what specific species Djokovic's tree is - the Melbourne Botanical Gardens website does not mention either the Brazilian fig tree or Djokovic.
He never wanted to find out exactly where the tree was, so that he could have peace there.
A journalist from the British Guardian went to the search behind Djokovic's "magic tree".
Her great advantage, as she said, was that many years ago she took a picture with Djokovic right in the Botanical Garden, near a tree that resembles a his.
After hours of searching, she managed to find him and hug him.
"Do you think I'm going to tell you where it is? Of course not, this is just for me and Novak Djokovic," she said at the end.
Two years ago, Djokovic stated to love every corner of the Botanical Garden.
"I feel a connection to that tree, I love its roots, its trunk, its branches, everything."
"I started climbing it a few years ago and that's it, we're connected."
In the next round, the owner of a record 24 Grand Slam titles in the men's competition will meet Dutchman Botika van de Zandschulp, ranked 75th in the world.
If he wins, it will be his 400th career Grand Slam triumph, which no one has achieved before.
Djokovic is chasing his 25th Grand Slam in Melbourne, which would see him surpass Margaret Court in terms of the number of major tennis titles.
However, he won his last Grand Slam in 2023 in New York, since when two young hopefuls - Italian Jannick Siner and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz - have taken over the dominance.
Last season, he managed to reach the semifinals of all four Grand Slams - the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open - but the Spaniard and the Italian shared the trophies.
When asked if Melbourne was his best chance for a 25th Grand Slam, Djokovic replied before the tournament that there was "a lot of talk about it", but that he was "trying to focus on what he has achieved, not what he could do".
"I hope to win 25, but 24 isn't a bad number either - I have to appreciate that and remind myself what a great career I've had."
Remember the unpleasant Australian episode of Novak Djokovic and the deportation case
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Bonus video:
