“Say it to my face”: Novak Djokovic confronts Aus Open hecklers
Novak Djokovic has confronted rowdy Australian Open audience members, saying the “tough guy” in the crowd “crossed the line” with his unsolicited commentary.
The Serbian tennis player was on his way to a victory against Aussie player Alexei Popyrin when he got caught in a verbal altercation with a spectator.
The frustrated defending grand slam champion was heard during the match yelling, "Come here and say it to my face" to a fan seated behind him at Rod Laver Arena.
"Come here! Come here!" Djokovic could be heard yelling in response to the mouthy spectator.
During his post-match press conference after the match win, the world No.1 elaborated on the clash with the spectator, telling the media he won't tolerate such behaviour from disrespectful audience members
"I mean, you don't want to know [what he said]. There were a lot of things that were being told to me on the court, particularly from that corner, and the same side the other corner. I was tolerating it for most of the match," Djokovic said.
"At one point I had enough, and I asked him whether he wants to come down and tell it to my face. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have the courage to come down.
"That's what I was asking him. If you have courage, if you're such a tough man, tough guy, come down and tell it to my face, and let's have a discussion about it.”
"He was apologising from far away. That's all it is."
"I'm not going to sit and say 'it's all good'. It's not good," he said.
"Of course, it upsets me. I'm frustrated. I don't want to be experiencing that, but I have to accept it as it is.”
"Sometimes I don't tolerate when somebody crosses the line. That's it."
The veteran player declared he would continue to "confront" patrons who attempted to throw him off his game, saying, "I was feeling a lot of mixed emotions today on the court. Not a great atmosphere to play in to be honest for me."
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