"He wants to get in my head": Djokovic takes stand against rowdy fans
Novak Djokovic has spoken out against tennis officials for how they reacted when a group of fans disrupted play at the Australian Open.
The Serbian tennis player, ranked world number one, was up against World Number 191 Enzo Enzo Couacaud when he was forced to take his fight from the court to the stands.
A group of four young men dressed in Where’s Waldo costumes were responsible for the chaos, and poked at the tennis star’s patience until the fourth set, when Djokovic had had enough.
“He’s been provoking all night, the entire night, the entire night,” Djokovic said to the chair umpire, “what are you going to do about it?”
The problems began when the group saw fit to shout and taunt during Djokovic’s serves, with their drunken antics leading him to suspect they intended to throw off his game.
“The guy's drunk out of his mind, from the first point he's been provoking me,” he told the umpire, gesturing to the trouble in the crowd, “he's not here to watch tennis. He just wants to get in my head.
“So I’m asking you, what are you going to do about it? You’ve heard him at least 10 times — I’ve heard him 50 times. What are you going to do about it?”
Djokovic called for the expulsion of the disruptive fans, asking officials, “why don’t you get security guards and get him out of the stadium?”
A security guard was reportedly sent to speak with the men, and sat in the row before them.
The week before, the organisers of the Australian Open stated that anyone who was found to be taunting Djokovic without reason, and disrupting the enjoyment of everyone else, would be removed from the venues.
The measure was likely put in place as Djokovic, like Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios, is frequently the subject of heckling from audiences at these events.
Despite the security guard’s presence, the interruptions were ongoing, and eventually the men were escorted from the game - but it may have proven too little too late for the Serbian player.
In a press conference about the event, Djokovic told reporters, “it’s just unnecessary because why should we as players be put in a position where we have to always react when it‘s been two hours. It’s not been 10 minutes. This is what I mind, and this is why I felt the need to go out there because I had enough, you know?
“I can tolerate five, six times somebody telling me something, but there is a limit. That limit was crossed, and I stepped in and I asked the chair umpire, is he going to do something about it or not? He did, and I thanked him.”
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