"If a player steps over that, it starts being annoying"- Novak Djokovic on youngsters like Ben Shelton toeing the line between confidence & disrespect

Novak Djokovic is all for youngsters on tour showing their confidence and being openly celebratory on the court, provided that they do not cross the line between confidence and disrespect.

On Friday, Djokovic booked his spot in the fourth round of the 2024 Australian Open, beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(2). Ben Shelton was expected to be his opponent after that, but the American fell to 20th seed Adrian Mannarino in a five-set marathon.

Shelton and Djokovic have developed quite a history already, with the Serb famously recreating his 'dialed in' celebration after beating him at the US Open last year. Since then, the World No. 1 has commented on the matter a few times, most recently chastising the youngster for his alleged lack of respect.

"It was a reaction against [Shelton]. He did not behave properly, with respect, on court, and before the match. If anyone one places himself in the unsportsmanlike zone, I react," Djokovic said a couple of weeks ago.

After his win over Etcheverry, the World No. 1 touched on the topic once again, this time opining that he was okay with youngsters like Ben Shelton coming out on court and showcasing their self-belief to the fans in an outspoken manner.

It is only if it starts being disrespectful to opponents that Djokovic believes it is "annoying," in which case he looks to react in the same vein.

"As far as Shelton's level of confidence and coming out, I don't mind that actually at all. I think it's great. You got to believe. I'm all for that. I support 100% a young player coming out on the court, like Prizmic did the other night against me, and Shelton is doing coming out believing in his capabilities that he can challenge the best players in the world. I don't dislike that at all," Djokovic said in his post-match press conference.

"But there is obviously some kind of line, non-visible line, of acceptable behavior I guess towards the other player. If a player steps over that line, then obviously it starts being annoying. That's when you react or you don't react, whatever. It just depends," he added.

Once again, the 24-time Grand Slam champion reiterated:

"But I'm all for young players showing confidence and speaking, always with respect, towards the older guys who are on the tour, but being confident in themselves and their tennis."

Novak Djokovic: "If I made a mistake, I would admit it and, of course, say I make a mistake"

2024 Australian Open - Day 6

Novak Djokovic also spoke about how he, as a youngster on the tour, had reacted to similar comments from the older players at the time. Djokovic said he had never had any reservations about admitting mistakes and apologizing for the same.

The World No. 1 added, however, that if he had reason to believe the criticism was uncalled for, he would often just ignore it and carry on as usual.

"I mean, if I made a mistake, I would admit it and, of course, say I make a mistake, I raise my hand, I apologize or whatever. But if the criticism came with no particular reason I think, then I would just keep going the kind of direction that I chose, and that's it," Djokovic said.

"I knew and I know today that you can't have everyone liking you, who you are, how you play, how you behave, what you talk about. It's normal. We're all different. We are all different preferences," he added.