Novak Djokovic is told to ‘get vaccinated mate’ by heckler on match point before seeing off Tomas Martin Echeverry with an ace as the World No 1’s love-hate relationship with the Australian Open crowd continues

Novak Djokovic has had another encounter with the crowd in Melbourne at the Australian Open, with one brawler telling the Serbian great to get ‘vaccinated’.

No men’s player has won more Australian Open titles in his career than Djokovic, who is competing for a record-extending 11th title this year, which would take his total Slam tally to 25.

However, after admitting he had not been vaccinated against Covid-19 ahead of the 2022 edition of the competition, he was not allowed to take part, with officials ruling that all players must have received their vaccination.

He was also banned from competing in the US Open later that year, and although he has since returned to both Grand Slams, the heckler’s comments come after he was verbally abused by crowd members last year.

Djokovic was serving on match point from his third-round victory over Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry – who had already defeated Andy Murray – when a member of the crowd decided to shout out.

The Serbian grandmaster was told by a member of the Melbourne crowd to get vaccinated

According to reports, a tennis fan exclaimed, “get vaccinated, buddy!” before the Serbian was to serve for the match.

He then regained his composure, before firing an authoritative ace to seal an impressive three-set victory over the Argentine and progress to the last sixteen.

Djokovic’s vaccination stance was a major talking point during the height of the pandemic, although the player himself claimed he was never against it but believed everyone had the right to make their own choice.

“I have never been anti-vax,” Djokovic said after winning the US Open title last year.

‘I was always in favor of the freedom to choose. And that’s something that we really took for granted.

“I didn’t really feel like many people had a choice.”

It was a performance worthy of the record winner, who flew past Etcheverry after struggling with illness in his first two games earlier in the competition.

As well as illness, he has also clashed with fans in Melbourne, most notably during his second round match against home favorite Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday.

Etcheverry defeated Andy Murray, but was no match for Djokovic, who won in straight sets

Djokovic got into a fiery exchange with a heckler during his second-round match

Djokovic pointed to the spectator and repeatedly told them ‘come and say that to my face’

As he walked to the back of the field, the Serbian superstar looked up at the crowd and got into an animated conversation with a heckler, repeatedly telling them to “come and say that to my face.”

The conversation lasted several seconds before Djokovic eventually turned his back to focus on the match again as he tried to remain calm after being irritated by the fans’ behavior.

When asked what he thought of the partisan Melbourne Park crowd after the match, Djokovic replied: ‘Not the best atmosphere to play in, to be honest. People were basically making noise the entire match between the first and second serves.

“What really frustrated me is when someone bothers me in the crowd. I told him to say it to my face, but at that moment I didn’t have the courage.”