"Born to defend someone that doesn't even know him" - Novak Djokovic fan accuses ATP of 'ignoring' the Serb in page cover, Corentin Moutet responds

A Novak Djokovic fan and World No. 134 Corentin Moutet had a dust-up on Wednesday (January 10) over the Serb not featuring on ATP and Australian Open's social media cover pages.

Djokovic, a 10-time winner in Melbourne, has established himself as arguably the greatest male tennis player of all time over the last few years. The 24-time Major winner, however, continues to polarize tennis circles despite his career achievements.

Australian Open and the ATP Tour's social media accounts used the likes of Rafael Nadal and Coco Gauff in their design, seemingly angering one of the Serb's fans.

The fan took to their X (formerly Twitter) account to accuse the ATP Tour and the Australian Open of showing bias against Novak Djokovic. They also claimed that the Serb would likely use the disregard for him as a motivator in Melbourne next week.

"It's such a bad look. Djokovic is the 10-time reigning @AustralianOpen champion, they along with the @atptour have chosen to ignore him in all their headers. They don't even attempt to hide their bias against him. Stuff like this will just actually motivate Djokovic," they wrote on X.

The fan's complaints were subsequently rebuked by France's Corentin Moutet. The 24-year-old reposted their tirade on the tennis governing bodies on his X account, claiming that the fan was "born to defend someone that doesn’t even know him".

"This guy is born to defend someone that doesn’t even know him. C'mon brother there is a life out there enjoy lifeee," Moutet wrote along with a few laughing emojis.

Moutet was soon branded as an establishment puppet by the Serb's fan as the back-and-forth between them intensified. They also made a remark about the Frenchman's ATP ranking of 135.

"So here goes @moutet99, out to protect the establishment again. Every industry needs a clown in the circus to carry out orders even those ranked 135. Good job bro," they wrote, followed by a clown emoji.

The Frenchman disapproved of the fan's draining attitude, asserting that it was pretty telling about the general public's understanding of professional tennis.

"Funny to see this guy pointing my “135” ranking as a bad thing. Tells a lot about people’s vision of professional tennis," he wrote in his reply to the fan.

Novak Djokovic firm favorite for the 2024 Australian Open despite wrist issue

Novak Djokovic poses with the 2023 Australian Open trophy

Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, will be looking to win a record-extending 11th Australian Open title. The Serb reigned supreme in Melbourne in convincing fashion last year despite carrying a hamstring strain.

The 24-time Major winner finds himself in familiar territory as far as his physical conditioning is concerned. He picked up a wrist injury at last week's United Cup, which seemingly affected his shots by his own admission.

“I think I'll be okay, to be honest,” Djokovic said about his wrist niggles. “It did have quite an impact, particularly on the forehand and serve. I have plenty of time, I think enough time to get myself in the right shape for the Australian Open."

The Serb is still the top favorite to triumph in Melbourne. According to BetMGM, he has favorable odds of +110, which means that a $100 wager on him will promise returns of $110 if he wins the tournament. World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz is well behind his older rival with +275 odds.