Australian Open: Novak Djokovic survives scare as 'disturbing' behaviour called out

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Novak Djokovic has lifted the lid on what sparked his confrontation with a spectator at the Australian Open.

The Serbian was heard calling for one member of the crowd to ‘come here’, and the world No.1 has opened up on what caused the situation.

He explained: “I mean, you don't want to know [what he 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. 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. That's all it is."

Nick Kyrgios has revealed that he has Wimbledon ‘circled’ on his calendar as he looks to return from a series of injury.

The 28-year-old played just one match in 2023 and was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open this month as the tournament came too early.

Looking ahead on what’s next for the former world No. 13, Kyrgios said: “I've had a bit of surgery on my right wrist. I was just riddled with injuries last year. It's been so hard. It's been a day-by-day process, just trying to trust the process and let my body recover. I'm listening to my body. Wimbledon's always circled on my calendar."

Rafael Nadal has thanked Roger Federer for stopping by at his academy today.

The two tennis greats caught up at the Rafa Nadal Academy whilst Nadal looks to recover from his injury that ruled him out of the Australian Open.

He wrote: “Great to have you here with me today my friend. Thanks for the visit and hope to see you again very soon.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas has joked that he will need Novak Djokovic to stop being so ‘selfish’ if he is to win the Australian Open.

The Greek progressed into the third round of the competition with victory over Jordan Thompson as he looks to go one better than his runners-up finish last year.

Asked about what needs to happen if he is to reign victorious this time around, Tsitsipas said: “The numbers don’t lie, I think Novak has been able to win here 12 times, he’s a very selfish person. So I think if he just manages to wake up one day feeling less selfish, sharing is caring sort of vibe.

“There are two scenarios: someone needs to beat Novak that is not me, or it has to be me. We’ll have to find a way.”

Aleksandar Kovacevic was forced to step in when a ballkid made a crucial mistake during his match against Karen Khachanov.

The American hit a return that was going wide outside of the tramlines but the ballkid ran towards the court and caught the ball while it was still in play. Khachanov wasn't happy when the umpire informed him they would need to replay the point but Kovacevic showed his sportsmanship as he asked the official to let his opponent have it.

Nick Kyrgios said he wanted to "do WWE in the crowd" after Novak Djokovic was heckled during his second-round victory at the Australian Open.

The world No. 1 confronted a spectator during the fourth and final set of his victory over Alexei Popyrin, telling them to "come and say it to my face". 

While Djokovic knew how to play through the noise, he said he drew the line when it came to hecklers. As he spoke to Kyrgios after the match, the 36-year-old explained: "What really frustrates me is when somebody is heckling so I confront the hecklers as I did. I think Kygs loved that. Kygs, did you like that exchange?"

And Kyrgios replied: "When he was heckling you Novak, I said to the commentary box and everyone worldwide, I was like look, if you want me to jump into the crowd and sort him out, I’ll do it for you bro. I’ve got your back, 100 per cent."

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has called out 'disturbing' behaviour from drunk fans at the Australian Open following her defeat to Paula Badosa in the second round.

Speaking after the match, she said: "I don’t know if they even watched the match. 

"There were a couple of guys, I think they got drunk and they started to scream and meow. I think maybe because I have this tattoo on my leg [which reads meow].

"Or just because, of course, they had some drinks and so it was really disturbing. It was not nice, to be honest."

Novak Djokovic is safely into the next round of the Australian Open after surviving a scare to beat Alexei Popyrin in four sets.

The Serb cruised home in the fourth set of the match to claim a hard-fought victory and maintain his hopes of winning the first Grand Slam of the new year.

Novak Djokovic has successfully restored his lead over Alexei Popyrin by edging a third-set tiebreak at the Rod Laver Arena.

The Serb was made to work hard by his Australian rival but held firm to put himself within one set of victory.

However, it remains to be seen whether Popyrin will be able to fight back to take the match all the way to a decisive fifth set.

Emma Raducanu has insisted that she is feeling good at the Australian Open after reuniting with coach Nick Cavaday, who she first worked with as a 10-year-old.

"I think it’s pretty calm now," said Raducanu. "It’s nice to be with Nick. I’ve known him since I was a kid.

"I feel very comfortable there. Just all aspects really of my life I feel like are calming down and settled.

"Obviously when you come back after eight months, have experienced three surgeries, you’re just really grateful to be able to move freely."

Alexei Popyrin has managed to get himself on level terms against Novak Djokovic by winning the second set.

The home favourite will be desperate to give the Rod Laver Arena crowd something to cheer about by pulling off a monumental upset today.

Djokovic, however, still has plenty of time to turn things around. 

Aryna Sabalenka is through to the next round of the Australian Open after defeating Brenda Fruhvirtova in straight sets.

She is joined by Paula Badosa, who breezed to a similarly comfortable victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova earlier today.

In the men's competition, Frances Tiafoe is out of the tournament after losing at the hands of Tomas Machac.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is currently level with Jordan Thompson on a set each, while Novak Djokovic has taken an early lead over Alexei Popyrin after the first three games.

Ben Shelton is safely through to the third round of the Australian Open after beating Christopher O'Connell in four sets.

The American hopeful dropped the second set but battled back to win the next two and secure a hard-fought 6-4 6-1 3-6 7-6(5) victory.

Shelton could face Novak Djokovic further down the line if he wins his next match in Melbourne, with his opponent yet to be decided.

Martina Navratilova has claimed that Naomi Osaka was 'clearly' out of shape in her first-round Australian Open defeat to Caroline Garcia.

She also urged Osaka to 'get more fit' in a brutal assessment of her performance, saying: "She couldn’t get to the ball that she wants to hit because she is not in shape.

"I am surprised that she started playing, that she got on the tour that she played this tournament without clearly being in the tip-top shape she needs to be in order to put herself in the position to hit the big, big balls.

"She was stretched out way too much and the fact that she didn’t have a break point tells you all you need to know about that match."

Rick Macci believes that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the only two players with the ability to beat Novak Djokovic to this year's Australian Open title.

"Well, you can lose to anybody at any time but it's probably going to be Alcaraz or Sinner," Ricci told NBC.

"Jannik Sinner, the Italian stallion, he's in his draw so they could meet in the semis. Alcaraz, he's on the other half, so Sinner is the guy because he's beaten him before.

"If you've been there, done that, that gives you a lot of confidence."

Mirra Andreeva dumped her idol Ons Jabeur out of the Australian Open earlier today in what was arguably the best display of her young career.

The teenage sensation breezed to a 6-0 6-2 victory in just 54 minutes and spoke of her delight after booking her place in the third round.

"It was one of my dreams to play against her because I really like the way she plays," said Andreeva. "It means a lot to win this match."

Daria Kasatkina has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to blast TV bosses for opting to show the men's matches instead of focusing on the prime-time women's event.

Elena Rybakina, who finished runner-up at last year's Australian Open, faced Karolina Pliskova in a seismic clash on Tuesday but the match was not televised.

Alexander Zverev's meeting with home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis was shown instead, sparking the wrath of Kasatkina as she vented her fury on social media.

Nick Kyrgios has admitted that he 'loves' the drama between Novak Djokovic and Ben Shelton, who clashed in the semi-finals of last year's US Open.

Djokovic was left unimpressed with Shelton's attitude on the court and accused him of lacking respect in a new attack on the 21-year-old earlier this week.

Asked for his thoughts on the matter, Kyrgios told Eurosport: "I love it. Ben is one of the more exciting personalities we have in the sport and he can take the game a long way.

"A big American server with a lot of personality and that celebration against [Frances] Tiafoe at the US Open was cold and then my boy Djokovic just took it a step further and did it to the guy who did it first.

"I loved it. I’ve honestly watched the video so many times and look, if it gets eyes on the sport and it’s not too crazy, I think I’m all for it. I love it."

Hello and welcome to Express Sport's rolling coverage of the latest news on day four of the Australian Open.

We'll be on hand to bring you the biggest stories throughout the day, as well as score updates with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Aryna Sabalenka all in action.