Novak Djokovic came to the defense of Danielle Collins after the American tennis player sparked controversy at the Australian Open. Djokovic himself faced issues with unruly spectators during his match, highlighting the growing problem of crowd conduct at Melbourne Park.
Novak Djokovic rallied to the defense of Australian Open antagonist Danielle Collins as crowd conduct persists to create issues at Melbourne Park . The 10-time champion battled a heckler, berated technology, bounced his racquet in frustration and endured two medical timeouts during his straight sets victory over 26th seed Tomas Machac at Rod Laver Arena on Friday.
The seventh seed continually implored the umpire to quieten the crowd, and was especially annoyed at one spectator for continuously calling the ball out late. Djokovic ultimately lost his cool and directed his frustration towards the heckler directly after the persistent fan did it again. After hitting the match-winning backhand passing shot down the line, the 37-year-old promptly turned to the heckler in the crowd. He is not the only player to have endured abuse from the Melbourne Park crowds this week. Brit Jack Draper complained after his epic five-set triumph over home hope Thanasi Kokkinakis before polarizing American Danielle Collins made a cheeky “kiss my ass” gesture to the partisan crowd after ousting Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava on Thursday night. Collins instantly became public enemy No.1 for her actions and post-match comments where she riled up the crowd for funding her “five-star vacation to the Bahamas”. But despite losing the support of the entire Australian public, she still has Djokovic in her corner. \“I loved her response. I loved it, everything she said on the court, off the court. Big fan of Danielle Collins after that,” Djokovic said. “I was before but, now, big fan. I love it. “I heard some comments of people that she shouldn’t have said that or that. I think she handled it really well. “I don’t think I would be that polite, and I know exactly the feeling. So I think she was funny, smart, and just big fan of what she did. Big fan.” Asked if fans were starting to cross the line in his match, Djokovic said: “Yeah, few people here and there.” “I understand you have few drinks more, and then you get into it, but on the court it’s frustrating and it comes in a bad moment. “If it’s repetitive, it happens for an hour, somebody tells you in the corner things that you don’t want to hear and constant provoking, then of course it comes to the point where you just respond. “So I tried to tolerate but then at one point I had to respond, and that’s all. That’s all to say about it.” Djokovic will play another seeded Czech on Sunday in Jiri Lehecka while continuing his quest for an unprecedented 25th grand slam singles title
NOVAK DJOKOVIC DANIELLE COLLINS AUSTRALIAN OPEN CROWD CONDUCT SPECTATORS MELBOURNE PARK
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