Global Courant
Defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic said a confrontation with a spectator was the spark he “needed” to stop Alexei Popyrin and avoid a shock exit in the second round.
Djokovic, chasing a record-extending 11th men’s title in Melbourne, looked far from his best in the four-set win.
The Serbian told a spectator to “come down and tell it to my face” during the fourth set after repeated bickering.
“Maybe that was necessary to wake me up a bit,” says the 36-year-old Djokovic.
The world number one said he “didn’t want to be in this kind of situation” but added that the incident helped him “find the kind of intensity on the pitch” needed to be able to go 6-3 play out. -6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win.
The inspired Popyrin, ranked 43rd, entertained the partisan home crowd as he won the second set to level the match before losing a crucial third set in a tie-break after failing to convert four set points .
With the fourth set level at 2-2, Djokovic – who admitted he felt emotionally “flat” – said he had engaged with the fan because his patience had run out after “a lot of things” were shouted at him during the match.
“A lot of things were said to me on the pitch, especially from that corner, and the same side in the other corner.
“I tolerated it for most of the match. At one point I had enough and I asked him to come down and tell me to my face.
‘He didn’t have the courage to come down. I asked him that. If you have courage, if you’re such a tough guy, come down and tell it to my face, and let’s have a discussion about it.
‘He apologized from afar. That’s all.’
