Novak Djokovic confronts heckler, makes him apologize for insulting the 10-time Australian Open champ

Novak Djokovic‘s savage interactions with ‘tough crowds’ are not a rare sight. The Serb himself admits that he thrives under pressure when people in the stands mock and doubt him. It instills an added fire in him to prove his haters wrong.

The Serb proved once again during the second round of the 2024 Australian Open that it is a bad idea to ‘poke the bear’, especially when talking about a player of Djokovic’s caliber.

During his second-round match against Alexei Popyrin, Djokovic was getting constantly heckled by some fans. It was expected as he was playing against a local favorite, but the Serb was having none of it.

He called out a fan in particular and challenged him to come down to the court and tell it to his face. He then went on to win the match in style. 

Upon being asked about his interaction with the heckler in the post-match conference, Novak Djokovic revealed what exactly he had shouted at him. He also revealed that the heckler later apologized to him from the crowd. 

You don’t wanna know. Yeah, there were a lot of things that were being told to me and said on the court. I was tolerating it for the most of the match. But at one point, I had enough and asked him whether he wants to come down and tell it to my face. And when you confront somebody, unfortunately for him, he didn’t have the courage to come down.

He said

So that’s what I was telling him. If you’re a tough man, come down and tell it to my face and let’s have a discussion about it you know. So he was apologizing from far and away and that’s all there is. 

Added the top seed. 

Novak Djokovic admits being ‘Fired up’ after his interaction with the heckler 

Novak Djokovic came up with an aggressive celebration targeted at the crowd after defeating Alexei Popyrin. It was obviously in response to the fans constantly heckling him, and it also caused a stir on social media. 

On being asked whether the incident with the heckler fired him up, Novak Djokovic said that it might have been the case.

Yeah, maybe that was needed I don’t know. 

He said. 

The Serb will now face Argentine Tomas Martín Etcheverry, who is currently the World No. 32 on the ATP rankings, in the third round of the 2024 Australian Open.

The two players have faced each other twice so far, and Djokovic has emerged victorious on both occasions. He is expected to repeat the same in the third round. 

In case you missed it:

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• Shockwaves in tennis world as former World No. 1 convicted of fraud, dodges prison in high-stakes debt scheme

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