Furious Novak Djokovic has Australian Open meltdown and shouts at his own team… just days after confronting heckler
NOVAK DJOKOVIC furiously shouted at his team during the first set of his Australian Open quarter-final against Taylor Fritz.
Fritz pushed the Serbian hard in the opening set, with Djokovic eventually taking it 7-6.
The Serb made hard work of things, missing eight break points as he secured first place victory.
And he took his frustration out on his coaching team during an end change.
Djokovic tried to get the attention of his coaches by waving at them but it was to no avail.
He eventually threw his arms up in the air in frustration before shouting across to his staff.
During the first set, he kept motioning to his coaches to keep an eye on him as he struggled with Fritz.
Their closer attention clearly worked, with Djokovic scoring the “point of the tournament” with a stunning serve and volley when he came back for the second set.
It’s not the first time Djokovic has shown his emotions at the Aussie open this month.
The star experiences a love-hate relationship with the Melbourne crowd, and often has to deal with heckles.
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He was told to “Get vaccinated mate” during his third round clash with Tomás Martín Etcheverry – and responded with an ace.
The comment was in reference to Djokovic refusing to get the Covid-19 jab – which prompted his deportation from Australia in 2022 and then getting banned from entering America until last year.
In Djokovic’s first round match against Dino Prižmić he let rip as he did not know about a new rule allowing fans to move between games.
Players have been getting frustrated after a bar was installed beside court 6, leading to boozed-up fans arriving at games late as they swan around from court to court.
In his second match, Djokovic clashed with a heckler and told him to “come down and say it to my face” – before Kyrgios offered to “do WWE” if it happened again.
Djokovic eventually won the match up with Fritz, taking it 7-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
Inside Djokovic's love-hate with Aussie Open fans
NOVAK DJOKOVIC has won more Australian Open titles than anyone else and is eyeing up his 11th title in 2024.
The Serbian won his first crown way back in 2008 and admitted a 15-year love-affair with a tree in Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens has been the secret to his success.
But despite his unparalleled record Down Under, it has not always been plain sailing for Djokovic in Australia.
In 2022, he was famously deported from Australia over his refusal to get the Covid-19 vaccination and was unable to play in the tournament.
He received a mixed reception upon his return to Melbourne Park in 2023 – with plenty of support but some fans booing.
But in 2024 his relationship with the Aussie crowd really strained with incidents in his first FOUR rounds prompting various pointed fingers to the ear and overexuberant celebrations.
That included Djokovic telling a heckler to “come and say it to my face” before Nick Kyrgios offered to “go all WWE” on any further rowdy fans and then one spectator shouting “get vaccinated mate” before Djokovic responded with an ace on match point.
There is no doubt there is plenty of respect for all Djokovic has achieved in tennis – particularly at the Australian Open – but there still remains an underlying tension with the Aussie crowd that refuses to go away… and the more they try to get under his skin, the more it drives Djokovic on to prove them wrong and keep on winning.