‘Novak Djokovic can do so much with…’, says top analyst

It was not an easy night for Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. The Serbian champion defeated qualifier Enzo Couacaud by a score of 6-1, (5) 6-7, 6-2, 6-0, but had to deal with a left leg problem, his opponent’s reaction and a noisy and hostile spectator. At the beginning of the third set, the Belgrade native tried to push the spectator away and had a small argument with the chair umpire. “That guy is drunk as hell, he’s not here to watch tennis. He’s teasing me from the get-go, he’s trying to get into my head. You have to do something, you have to throw him out!” A commissioner stood in the stands of the Rod Laver Arena to make sure that the situation was not going to more. “The incident affected a few individuals, so I don’t want to generalize. Most people have been respectful, both today and in the past. They are big fans and buy tickets to see you play. Some encourage you, others not so much. I have no problem. The problem arises when someone crosses the line numerous times. From the first moment I heard some guys under the influence of alcohol, one in particular, scream several times. He insulted me, tried to provoke me and said disrespectful things,” Djokovic explained at a press conference. “I tolerated it all for more than an hour, almost two. I made some signals to the chair umpire. I think they should have done more and anticipated my request so as not to make me look like a bad guy. Because that’s how the media will describe me: the guy who got a viewer kicked out.”

Nole Djokovic took a medical time-out 

Former World No. 1 Mats Wilander recently expressed concern about Novak Djokovic’s hamstring injury at the ongoing 2023 Australian Open. “That is not reassuring, because I don’t remember him saying anything like that about his body. I really don’t,” Mats Wilander said. “The good think for Novak Djokovic, when he’s a little bit injured, he can do so much with a tennis ball these days, he can flatten out the forehand, and for his serve. He served brilliantly,” Wilander said. “As long as he can go through the matches, he’ll find another way of playing tennis that I think very few players can do. Of course, it’s a worry, but tactically he’ll play on one leg if he has to,” he added.