“Handled this as well as he could have,” Andy Roddick lauds Novak Djokovic for acting calm amidst the crowd’s provocation at 2023 Australian Open

Andy Roddick praises Novak Djokovic for keeping his composure during the crowd incident in the second round match.


“Handled this as well as he could have,” Andy Roddick lauds Novak Djokovic for acting calm amidst the crowd’s provocation at 2023 Australian Open

Andy Roddick about Novak Djokovic

Former World No.1 Andy Roddick gave his opinion about the crowd incident which distracted Novak Djokovic during his second-round match against Frenchman Enzo Couacaud at the Australian Open 2023. Despite the crowd disturbance and left hamstring issue, the Serbian closed out the match 6-1, 6-7(5-7), 6-2, 6-0. Some fans in the stands were provoking the Serbian throughout the match. Djokovic had to complain to the chair umpire a number of times before the spectators were ejected from the stadium.

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Andy Roddick’s quote tweeted the video praising Djokovic for keeping his composure during the match, “Novak handled this as well as he could have. Was clear about explaining this issue, and calm when asking how ref (referee) was gonna help w(with) a solution“.

Novak Djokovic vs. Enzo Couacaud Full Highlights | 2023 Australian Open [R2]

Djokovic also mentioned the incident during his post-match press conference. He felt that the chair umpire or the organizers didn’t do enough to stop the disrespectful behavior of the crowd. Most tennis fans on social media were seen supporting the Serbian and Andy Roddick for pointing out the “truth”. There was also a section of fans who were criticizing the media for portraying Djokovic as a bad guy.

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Novak Djokovic will face Grigor Dimitrov in the third round

Novak Djokovic

The Serbian Superstar Novak Djokovic who is looking to win his 10th Australian Open title this year has looked strong enough in the first two rounds. Despite losing a set and having minor movement issues due to a hamstring injury in the second set, he was all over the Frenchman Couacaud in the last two sets of the second round. The bagel in the last set was a pure display of clean hitting by the tournament’s best player.

If he continues to play as he did in the fourth set, there won’t be many left in the draw who can beat him. With the hip injury ending the dream of a second consecutive Australian title for his biggest rival Rafael Nadal, odds are in favor of Djokovic. In addition to his amazing display of baseline tennis, the draw is also becoming favorable.

With Nick Kyrgios withdrawing, Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini, and Casper Ruud eliminated in his half of the draw, there are not many players who can pose problems. Maybe, an inspired Holger Rune in the quarter-finals if it goes as per script. The Danish wunderkind who dethroned the Serbian in the Paris Masters 1000 final last year, will find the best of five sets as a different ball game.

The Bulgarian World No.28 Grigor Dimitrov has overcome another Serbian Laslo Dere in the second round 6-3,6-2,6-0. but he will have to play out of his skin to beat the best Serbian player in the third round. The 31-year-old has a poor record against Djokovic, head-to-head being 1-9.

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