"This hypocrite won't count triggering crowd as disrespect & will cry why Fedal is liked"- Novak Djokovic provoking Australian Open crowd annoys fans 

Tennis fans have expressed annoyance with Novak Djokovic for provoking the Australian Open crowd with his teasing gestures.

Djokovic faced off against Adrian Mannarino in the fourth round of the Melbourne Major on Sunday (January 21). The Serb earned a double bagel in the opening two sets before losing a game early in the third. Mannarino was treated with a standing ovation from the crowd for eventually winning a game.

Djokovic was, however, seemingly displeased with how long the ovation and cheering from the fans had gone on. He delayed the following serve, waiting for the fans to settle. He checked up with the chair umpire to clarify the delayed serve when the crowd started to boo him. This prompted the Serb to teasingly conduct the crowd with hand gestures.

Fans on social media were left annoyed with Djokovic's actions, deeming it repulsive. One fan labeled the Serb a 'hypocrite' and highlighted his disrespectful gestures being the major reason why he is 'kicked around' by fans unlike Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

"The most shameless weak-era fraud in all of sports history and he dares to preach to a college kid how to show respect? This hypocrite won't count triggering the crowd as a disrespect and will cry all day that why Fedal is so liked and he is kicked around lmao," the fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Another fan maintained that the 36-year-old has no class as they wrote:

"He can win all the games but he will never win the heart of peoples. He has no class..."

Here are a few other fan reactions:

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"Needed to get that one out of the way" - Novak Djokovic on losing the second game of the third set to retain his focus

The Serb in action at the 2024 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic admitted that he wanted to lose the second game of the third set against Adrian Mannarino to retain his focus.

During the post-match press conference, the Serb said the tension was building high in the stadium such that he was eager to get done with the game somehow to release the pressure.

The Serb said:

"Yeah, after the first two sets, one of the best I've played in a while. I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because the tension was building up in the stadium. I just needed to get that one out of the way so I could refocus on what I need to do to close out the match."

The World No. 1 effectively closed out the match, 6-0, 6-0, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals. With the win on Sunday, the Serb improved his head-to-head record against the Frenchman to 5-0.

Novak Djokovic will next face Taylor Fritz on Wednesday. He has a 100% win record against the American. The two last played against each other in the 2023 US Open quarterfinals, where the Serb won 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.