Novak Djokovic’s wife could only laugh as he offered to take a fan for a drink (Image: Eurosport)
offered to take a fan for a drink during an unusual encounter following his third-round victory.
The No. 7 seed was going back-and-forth with one spectator during the match and asked the umpire to intervene when members of the crowd called out mid-rally.
But there was no bad blood once the match was over as Djokovic said he would go for a drink and “reflect” with the fan as his wife watched on from the stands, laughing.
After dropping sets in his first two matches at Melbourne Park, Djokovic looked locked in on Friday night. Taking on No. 26 seed Tomas Machac, the Serb stormed through the opening set and recovered after going an early break down in the second to win 6-1 6-4 6-4.
Although it was his best performance of the tournament so far, the 37-year-old still grew frustrated during the match and had to ask the umpire to repeatedly tell fans not to call out during the rallies.
Djokovic vented towards his box and appeared to be going back-and-forth with one unruly spectator. But he was happy to make up as soon as the match was over.
During his on-court interview, Djokovic was asked about his physical struggles during the second set but was soon interrupted. “Yeah, I was trying to catch the breath, you know? Struggled. Not 19 anymore, I guess. 19 times two almost!” he joked.
Novak Djokovic wasn’t happy with some fans calling out during rallies (Image: Getty)
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The former world No. 1 started to explain that he went through “two different stages of the match” when the fan in question yelled out.
“Sorry mate, I have a wife,” Djokovic joked, leaving the crowd in stitches. “We can have a drink though. Maybe you had a few already. Him and I were going back and forth for quite a while.”
When Andrea Petkovic, who was conducting the on-court interview, asked if they could arrange a date with the spectator, Djokovic replied: “Listen I’m happy to have a drink with him now the match is over.
“I think we can reflect nicely on what we said to each other during the match. What were we talking about?”
Reminded that he was discussing his physical woes, Djokovic continued to push the idea of taking the fan out. “I guess one drink will solve everything that happened physically,” he added as his wife Jelena laughed at him.
The spectator had clearly gotten in Djokovic’s head, as he admitted he was “hot-headed” when he first stepped up to speak to Petkovic. He replied: “Very hot-headed right now so I’m going to try and give a very calm and diplomatic answer to that.
“I think I played really well, honestly. I’m very happy with my game. I was slightly surprised, to be honest, with the result, to beat him in straight sets.
“He was a break up early in the end, I struggled physically there. Just somehow managed to turn things around, hold my serve when I needed to. Just a couple of points decided that second set, it could’ve gone his way and then maybe the outcome of the match would’ve been different.”
Djokovic will now face another Czech star, Jiri Lehecka, on Sunday. He will be hoping to carry the same form into the fourth round after branding his win over Machac “the best match I played in the tournament”.