Novak Djokovic has never been one to avoid a scrap; now he is actively inviting them, too. Not content with battling an inspired opponent, a partisan home crowd and a nagging wrist problem, Djokovic rounded on a heckler early in the fourth set of a turbulent Australian Open victory over Alexei Popyrin, inviting the offender to descend from the stands and “say it to my face”.
The Serbian world No 1 is rarely more dangerous than when provoked and, having earlier seemed oddly becalmed as he came within a whisker of trailing by two sets to one, he predictably came out fighting following exchange, dropping just one more game. As for the spectator, he wisely elected to remain in his seat.
“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,” said Djokovic following his 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory. “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. 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.”
Djokovic acknowledged that the flashpoint provided a catalyst for victory – “maybe that was needed,” he grinned – yet the 36-year-old already had plenty to contend with. Not least Popyrin, a 24-year-old from Sydney with a heavy serve and a big forehand who had expressed confidence beforehand that he had the firepower to discomfit Djokovic and, after a slow start, made good on that bold prediction.
Helped by a slew of forehand errors from Djokovic that suggested the Serb is still feeling the effects of the wrist injury he sustained at the United Cup, Popyrin broke for the first time early in the second set and, riding an impassioned wave of support from the crowd, served to level the contest in the ninth game.
Djokovic managed to wriggle out of that hole, but two more missed forehands and a Popyrin net cord brought up a pair of set points for the Australian in the next game, the second of which he converted with a sumptuous topspin lob.
With the atmosphere in Rod Laver Arena electric, Popyrin continued to press, and as Djokovic served to stay in the third set at 5-4, another sequence of errors from the defending champion gifted the home favourite four set points. Djokovic, who has been suffering from a viral illness, showed signs of fatigue throughout that middle phase of the match, and we shall never know what might have unfolded had Popyrin been able to capitalise. As it was, the Australian joined the lengthy list of players undone by an apparently below-par Djokovic at an event he has won 10 times.
“I haven’t been playing or feeling at my best the last week or so,” said Djokovic, who will next face Tomás Martín Etcheverry, the Argentinian who ended Andy Murray’s tournament.
“It’s frustrating at times, the level of tennis that I’m playing on the court and some uncharacteristic mistakes that I make. At the same time, that’s sport. You can’t always feel your best or play your best, and you have to find a way to win.
“Can I be satisfied? I can be satisfied with the win. With my tennis, not so much. But it’s normal to go through these kind of periods or circumstances. You just have to embrace it, try to accept what it is, and build from there. As the tournament progresses, hopefully things will go in a positive direction in terms of how I feel and play.”
Jannik Sinner, who claimed wins over Djokovic at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup in the final weeks of last season, advanced into the third round with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over Jesper De Jong of the Netherlands. Seeded fourth, the 22-year-old Italian is expected to face the defending champion, who also dropped a set in the previous round against Dino Prizmic, in the semi-finals.
Also through is Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek seventh seed, who saved four set points to avoid going into a decider against Jordan Thompson. Tsitsipas defeats the talented Australian, who defeated Rafael Nadal en route to the last four in Brisbane, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). Frances Tiafoe is out, however, the American 17th seed falling 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic.