Novak defies heckler in gruelling win
NOVAK DJOKOVIC survived another scare in his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open yesterday. After dropping a set against 18-year-old qualifier Dino Prizmic in the first round — his longest ever opening match at a Grand Slam — the 36-year-old Serb defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena, confirming victory as the clock struck midnight in Melbourne. It was not all straightforward — Djokovic challenged one heckler to ‘say that to my face’ during this second-round win over his Australian opponent — but the partisan crowd only made him more determined to progress. As Nick Kyrgios said afterwards: ‘You don’t want to poke the bear.’ World No 1 Djokovic went from seething to smiling, turning to his haters in the stands in celebration upon victory. ‘It is what it is, it’s a Grand Slam, it’s a fight,’ he said after another gruelling match which lasted three hours and 11 minutes. ‘Of course it annoys you but you have to accept it and go with it. What really frustrates me is when somebody is heckling me, so I confronted him. ‘I invited him to come and say it to my face. He was apologising from far away. All of a sudden there was an absence of courage when he needed to face me.’ Popyrin played well in this second-round scrap, better than his ranking of 43rd in the world. But as is often the case, Djokovic disposed of the young pretender regardless, taking his streak to 30 successive wins at the Australian Open. He will now meet Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the Argentine ranked 32nd in the world who defeated Andy Murray in straight sets before beating Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 yesterday. Djokovic’s rivals realise he is favourite to triumph for an 11th time in Melbourne. After beating Jordan Thompson 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 yesterday, Stefanos Tsitsipas joked of the man he may meet in the quarterfinals: ‘He’s a very selfish person. If he manages to wake up one day feeling less selfish, with a sharing is caring more type of vibe… there are two scenarios. Someone needs to beat Novak, it’s either not me or it has to be me. We will have to find a way, either way.’ Meanwhile, Mirra Andreeva, the 16-year-old from Russia, defeated Ons Jabeur 6-0, 6-2 yesterday. ‘I was really nervous,’ said the teenager. ‘I’m really inspired by Ons. Now I had a chance to play against her and honestly, in the first set, I showed amazing tennis. I didn’t expect that.’ Andreeva was an Australian Open junior finalist last year and added: ‘I feel like I am more mature than I was.’ Reminded she is only 16, Andreeva responded: ‘That’s true. But last year I was 15.’