Jayne Hrdlicka the invisible woman of Australian tennis amid Novak Djokovic fiasco
Craig Tiley is copping the heat for the Djokovic fiasco, but Tennis Australia president Jayne Hrdlicka is again conspicuous by her absence.
Craig Tiley is getting the rough end of the stick. He’s doing himself zero favours by going to ground just days after telling Novak Djokovic to be open and honest with a “community” aggrieved by an Australian Open campaign that has left the world No. 1 in a hotel that doesn’t even have a spa bath in it. But Tennis Australia president Jayne Hrdlicka is just as conspicuous by her absence. Again.
Tennis Australia insiders on Friday recalled how Tiley was the lamb to the slaughter when controversy exploded before last year’s Open. They say the same lamb is being left to a different slaughter by the invisible woman of Australian tennis.
Last year, when overseas players were arriving in their hundreds, potentially Covid-infected athletes were going to get us all killed, remember? And when Ash Barty was spotted at a Melbourne shopping centre without a mask, it was a miracle she wasn’t taken out the back and shot.
Behind the scenes, all the complex negotiating with state and federal governments, health authorities and players, plus the curly public commentary, was left to Tiley. In the end, by whatever means he used, allegedly only just short of hand-feeding grapes and giving foot rubs to all semi-finalists, he staged a spectacularly successful tournament. For that he deserved enormous credit.
As TA’s chief executive and the Australian Open director, Tiley was rightly in the firing line when public emotions burned against the tournament even taking place. But he had no support in the public domain. Left alone to take the bullets. Only when the event was completed did Hrdlicka make a very public appearance to bask in the glory of the presentation ceremony for Djokovic’s triumph. One TA source on Friday described her as “a political animal” and highlighted how she was neither seen nor heard from until she made that marathon speech during the post-final formalities.
Hrdlicka became the first female president of TA in 2017. The America-born chief executive of Virgin Australia is also chair of the TA board. Descriptions of her range from “abrasive” to “no-nonsense” to “success-driven”. There was a view last year that Tiley did all the hard yards, copped all the flak, and pulled off a glorious tournament before being pushed to the background by Hrdlicka. Either by accident or intentionally, she was the only speech-maker who failed to mention Tiley by name, referring only to the “TA team”.
Parts of her speech were razzed. She didn’t deserve that. One round of jeers came when she thanked the Victorian government for allowing the tournament to go ahead. Djokovic’s supporters and anti-vaxxers hissed again when she said, “With vaccinations on the way, rolling out in many countries around the world, it’s now a time for optimism and hope for the future.” More noteworthy was the fact she was speaking on behalf of TA for the first time all summer. The easiest time. She told the audience on behalf of TA, “We hope that we’ve brought a bit of hope for the hard work that’s ahead in getting back to normal.”
Russian Daniil Medvedev spoke for two minutes and 25 seconds in his runner-up speech. Djokovic went for five minutes and 22 seconds. Hrdlicka outdid them both, taking the microphone for five minutes and 45 seconds.
That raised eyebrows as much as her failure to mention Tiley by name. When she was booed for an extended period, she said, “When you’ve finished.” Saluting Melbourne’s crowds for turning up in droves, she said, “You are a very opinionated group of people.”
Tiley is copping the blame for the Djokovic fiasco. It is indeed a mess. The world No.1 is roughing it in a hotel room that is just the one room. Never has he seen such a thing. Unless his eyes deceive him, there isn’t a single fireplace.
Where’s the damn cheese platter? To have to shower without the basic human requirement to slip into a silk robe and matching slippers … what fresh hell is this? And not even Tiley can help him now, which is unusual.
The Open boss has a reputation for sucking up to the superstars. That’s OK. I don’t think you can blame him for rolling out the red carpet for the likes of Djokovic. If Bruce Springsteen was playing concerts on Rod Laver Arena, he’d be pampered up to the eyeballs, too. You have to look after the superstars. They’re the superstars. At the end of the day, and the month of tennis, Tiley’s job is to have run a successful Open. If he has to make the banana smoothies himself and deliver one to Rafael Nadal, well, good on him for doing it. His Opens have ever been great.
Medvedev used his speech last year to congratulate Tiley “for making this event happen”. Djokovic said, “I want to congratulate the head of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley.” I remember thinking at the time, if Tiley orchestrated all this, why is Hrdlicka up on stage and hogging the microphone? Or if Hrdlicka is the boss, where was she back when things were getting ugly? She thanked the Victorian government, corporate sponsors, the volunteers and “the TA team”. No mention of Tiley.
Criticism of Tiley may be thoroughly deserved. He may have stuffed this one up. He may have given Djokovic assurances that did not exist. He needs to have a chat with the community as much as Djokovic does. He has to explain how this mess has happened because he was the bloke doing all the wheeling and dealing.
But it’s also the sort of situation that warrants the attention of the TA president. If Hrdlicka thinks Tiley should be defended, now is the time to chime in. If she’s trying to hang him out to dry, she’s doing a pretty good job of it.
If she’s going to place herself front and centre again at the Open presentations, she should earn the right by making herself visible when it’s really needed. Now’s the time for speeches that last five minutes and 45 seconds.
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