By RS
Published on 01/17/2024 at 5:18 p.m.
Novak Djokovic
DAVID GRAY / AFP
During his second round victory on Wednesday, the world number one, on edge, had a heated discussion with a spectator.
Shouldn’t have upset him… It’s difficult to understand what triggered his anger but the world number 1 had trouble with a spectator during his painfully won match against Alexei Popyrin in 3 hours and 11 minutes (6- 3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3). A 30th victory in a row in his favorite Grand Slam which he has won 10 times. In the fifth game of the last set, at 2-2, the owner, not in his mood, did not hide his anger, frozen smile, facing a spectator, saying: “Come down and tell me to my face!”
The referee had to ask Djokovic to calm down and resume the flow of the match. The rant of the “Djoker” being greeted by a lot of whistles. At a press conference, the man with 24 Grand Slam titles said about the incident: “I tolerated most of the match, but at one point I had enough and asked him if he wanted to come down and tell me to my face. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have the courage to go down. That’s what I asked him. He apologized from afar and that’s all there is to say.»
2024-01-17 16:18:44
#tense #exchange #Djokovic #spectator #Melbourne
