Novak Djokovic was forced to dig deep as he battled past Alexei Popyrin 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to reach the third round of the Australian Open in which he challenged a heckler to “come down and tell it to my face!”.
Djokovic appeared to have a problem with his wrist, an issue he came into the tournament with, and has also been ill but he kept his winning streak at the Australian Open alive, having not lost in Melbourne since 2018.
At one point during the fourth set of a testy win the world No 1 challenged a heckler to “say that to my face”.
Speaking about the confrontation, the 36-year-old said: “There was 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. At one point I had enough, and I asked him whether he wants to come down and tell it to my face.
“When you confront somebody, 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.”
The opening seven games went to serve with Djokovic 4-3 up but the world No 1 made a breakthrough when he broke Popyrin as the Australian made unforced errors at the wrong moment.
Novak Djokovic went on to take the set but Popyrin raised his game in response and broke his opponent to go 3-1 up in the second set.
However, Djokovic broke back when Popyrin was serving for the set, only for the Australian to win the set on the Djokovic serve and level things up to the delight of the crowd on the Rod Laver Arena.
Popyrin required a medical time-out at 3-2 up on his left calf but it didn’t seem to affect him. The home player found himself with three set points on Djokovic’s serve at 5-4 but failed to take them, then missed a fourth opportunity in the same game as the Serb just held on to make it 5-5.
A third-set tie-break was needed and from nowhere Djokovic delivered his best tennis of the match with some outstanding shots. Just as he’s done over the last 15 years, when it matters most, he produces.
Djokovic was left displeased early in the fourth set after a comment from a spectator, and there were some words exchanged.
It seemed to fire him up because he broke Popyrin in the sixth game. Djokovic had three match points at 5-2 up on his opponent’s serve but a determined Popyrin fought back to force the 23-time major winner to serve it out for the match.
Novak Djokovic, who is bidding for a record-extending 11th Australian Open title, did so with no issues and secured a place in the last 32.
“I haven’t been playing my best and I’m still trying to find my form, but particularly in the early rounds you’re playing players with nothing to lose really,” said Djokovic.
“They come out on Centre Court, trying to play their best match and best tennis, and I think both my first and second-round opponents are really great quality tennis players.
“I managed to find a way to win in four, that’s what counts in the end, and hopefully I can be able to build as the tournament progresses.”
He will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the last 32 after the Argentine, who beat Andy Murray in the first round, overcame Gael Monfils with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory.
