Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Novak Djokovic served an Ace and won the match after being heckled by the crowd “GET VACCINATED” at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic has had yet another run-in with the Melbourne crowd at the Australian Open, with one heckler telling the Serbian great to ‘get vaccinated’.
No mens player has won more Australian Open titles in their career than Djokovic, who is bidding for a record-extending 11th title this year, which would take his overall Slam tally to 25. Reports claim a tennis fan cried out ‘get vaccinated mate!’ before the Serbian was set to serve for the match.
He then regained his composure, before firing down an authoritative ace to seal an impressive three-set win over the Argentine and advance into the last 16.
Djokovic’s vaccination stance was a major talking point during the height of the pandemic, though the player himself claimed that he was never against it, but believed that everyone had a right to make their own choice.
‘I was never anti-vax,’ Djokovic said after winning the US Open title last year.
‘I was always pro-freedom-to-choose. And that’s something that we took really for granted.
‘I didn’t feel like a lot of people had a choice, really.’
It was a performance worthy of the record winner, who breezed past Etcheverry having struggled with sickness earlier in the competition in his first two matches. Last month, Djokovic sat down with “60 Minutes” and touched on the experience.
“I was basically declared as a villain of the world,” Djokovic said. “I had, basically, most of the world against me. I had that kind of experience on the tennis court with crowds that were maybe not cheering me on. But I never had this particular experience before in my life. Djokovic faces Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Sunday and was pleased with his third-round performance.
“I played better than I did in the first two rounds, so that’s a positive change, I guess,” he said. “Starting to feel better game-wise and physically, as well. It’s positive signs.”