Novak Djokovic challenges heckling fan at Australian Open: ‘Come say that to my face’

Djokovic was transformed after challenging the heckling fan (Getty Images)

A frustrated Novak Djokovic challenged a heckler at the Australian Open and used it as his motivation to turn his second-round battle against home favourite Alexei Popyrin around and extend his winning run at Melbourne Park.

An out-of-sorts Djokovic was struggling with a wrist injury as well as illness after admitting after his opening win against Dino Prizmic that he was feeling “under the weather”.

The 10-time Australian Open champion survived a tense third-set tiebreak against Popyrin after the Australian had levelled the match in the second.

Djokovic saved four set points as Popyrin looked to take a two sets to one lead on Rod Laver Arena, admitting he was “lucky” to not fall behind.

And with the majority of the crowd supporting Popyrin and hoping to see the upset, Djokovic took issue with a supporter in the crowd and asked for them to be removed.

Before serving, Djokovic paused and turned to the crowd before identifying one fan in the stands.

After hearing a comment from the crowd, Djokovic challenged the heckler to “come and say that to my face” as the match approached the three-hour mark.

Djokovic appeared to spit on the court at the Rod Laver Arena (Getty Images)

The 36-year-old then resumed the fourth set and his level drastically improved following the incident, winning a succession of points in order to claim the break in the fourth.

Djokovic, who has not lost a match at the Australian Open since 2018, was strangely subdued in the second and third set but was transformed after challenging the heckler.

From there, Djokovic closed out a 6-4 4-6 7-6 6-3 victory in just over three hours to advance to the third round, where he will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

The 24-time grand slam champion was also cheered on by dozens of Serbian fans at the Rod Laver Arena, where he is attempting to win a record-extending 11th title this month.