Novak Djokovic rises above hecklers during win at Australian Open – ‘How has he not been thrown out?!’ asks Bradnam

Novak Djokovic was persistently targeted by hecklers during his stunning straight-sets victory over Alex de Minaur in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday – but he rose above it all.

Djokovic received a huge amount of support from a large section of the fans inside the stadium, but there were also some disruptive hecklers that the fourth seed had to cope with during the match.

Eurosport commentator and former professional, Chris Bradnam, was left impressed by the way Djokovic managed to shut out some of the distractions and focus on his match in such circumstances.

After a booming ace followed a shout from the crowd, Bradnam said: “A perfect answer again. The problem is sometimes with these people in the crowd, they get in the newspapers the following day. I think that is probably their mission when they come.”

Umpire Mohamed Lahyani repeatedly asked the individuals to show more respect for the players but was understandably limited in what he was able to do from the chair during the match.

“Please, show good spirit to the sport by not disturbing the players in the service motion,” Lahyani said at one point after a particularly noisy heckle.

“Show good sportsmanship. No need to do these kinds of comments, please, thank you.”

Bradnam continued: “They shouldn’t be in the crowd, Mr Lahyani, they should have been removed already.

“It is something they [the tournament organisers] really need to work on here, and there is not much they need to. It is a fantastic event, but that is a problem. Imagine being the parents sitting there and hearing all of that.

“They are trying to get under his skin.

“How has he not been thrown out yet?” Bradnam asked, referring to one fan in particular. “It would not happen at Wimbledon.” Tim Henman, who has an official role at Wimbledon, responded: “Hope not!”

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