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Tennis fans were irked by Novak Djokovic directing his celebration at a heckler after defeating Australia's Alexei Popyrin in the second round of the Australian Open 2024.
Djokovic overcame stern opposition from the spectators inside the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, January 17. The crowd rallied behind local boy Popyring, who did his best to make his opponent's job hard in the four setter.
The Serb maintained his cool for almost the entire match but eventually decided to confront a heckler in the fourth set. Furthermore, he marked his victory with a scream and fist pumps aimed at the heckler, an act that upset the tennis buffs on X (formerly Twitter).
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"Beefing the crowd and then he wonders why he isn't as loved and liked as Nadal and Federer. Should have a look at himself rather than complaining around," a fan wrote.
Another fan targeted the Serb's followers for reacting strongly to Rafael Nadad's celebration following his first win on his recent comeback at the Brisbane International.
"Celebrating like he just won a calendar Golden Slam after beating some random popcorn and his minions had a problem with Nadal's celebration in a comeback win after 1-year hiatus," the fan tweeted.
A third fan chimed in, saying:
"Disgraceful. Abhorrent. Dark Blot on our sport. Putrid. Abomination."
Here are a few more reactions from X:
Novak Djokovic believes he needs to be 'very prepared' for Australian Open 3R opponent Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Novak Djokovic is set to face Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round of the Australian Open 2024 on Friday, January 19. Etcheverry reached the third round after registering straight-set victories against three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray and Gael Monfils.
During a press conference in Melbourne, the Serb acknowledged the Argentinian's current form:
"I didn't see him playing but he beat Monfils and Murray, quite comfortably in both matches," he said. "I will have to do my homework and see how he played those matches. Yeah, the results are really impressive. He's obviously playing maybe the tennis of his life on the hard court."
The 24-time Grand Slam champion also touched on his off-court equation with Etcheverr but reckoned he needs to be on his toes ahead of the duel.
"Tomas is a great guy. I get along very well with him and his team. Obviously, on the court, we're going to be opponents. We both want to win. I'm going to try to learn from the previous matches we had," he said.
"But I think his level of tennis on the hard court particularly has improved a lot. The results are a testament to that. I have to be very, very prepared and ready for that," he added.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head 2-0 against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
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