Novak Djokovic shows Danielle Collins how to deal with ‘drunk’ hecklers with hilarious response to fan that leaves Australian Open crowd in stitches

Novak Djokovic was hilariously confronted by a heckler after his victory over Tomas Machac at the Australian Open.

Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion including ten victories in Melbourne, defeated the Czech star 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round on Friday.

During the match, the Serbian was forced to overcome adversity and faced some hostility from the Rod Laver Arena crowd, something that was characteristic of the tournament.

This came after Danielle Collins slapped her bum and blew kisses at the hecklers following her win over hopeful Destanee Aiava on Thursday, before the American later bragged about her ‘big fat $180,000 (£147,000)’ paycheque.

Collins was then booed by the crowd, who accused them of being ‘super drunk’, but Djokovic decided to act differently in his on-court interview.

As he began to discuss his game, a largely incoherent heckler shouted something in the Serbian’s direction.

Novak Djokovic was hilariously confronted by a heckler after his victory over Tomas Machac

The Serbian defeated the Czech star in straight sets, but faced some hostility from the crowd

The Serbian defeated the Czech star in straight sets, but faced some hostility from the crowd

Djokovic's comments left the interviewer and the crowd at Rod Laver Arena in stitches

Djokovic’s comments left the interviewer and the crowd at Rod Laver Arena in stitches

Instead of biting back on the barb, Djokovic calmly replied: “Sorry mate, I have a wife. But we can have a drink…maybe you’ve had a few already.’

This left the interviewer – former world number 9 Andrea Petkovic – in hot water, before Djokovic added: ‘He and I were actually talking back and forth for a long time.’

When Djokovic was jokingly asked if he would like to date the heckler, Djokovic continued to entertain those in attendance.

“Listen, I’m glad I can have a drink with him,” he added. ‘Now that the match is over, we can reflect on what we said to each other during the match.’

Djokovic’s reaction was markedly different from Collins’ on Thursday after she ran into trouble with the rowdy Australian crowd.

Slamming the home fans for booing her in a post-match interview, the American said: ‘During the game I thought: while I’m here, I might as well take that big paycheque.

‘We like a five-star holiday, so a lot of it will go there. So thank you guys, thank you for coming out here and supporting us tonight. Thanks guys, I love you.”

Collins, who reached the Australian Open final in 2022, has already collected £147,000 ($USD180,000/AU$290,000) in prize money by reaching the third round.

Djokovic's comments come after Danielle Collins slammed her backside at the crowd

Djokovic’s comments come after Danielle Collins slammed her backside at the crowd

The American boasted to fans that he had claimed a 'fat pay cheque' by reaching the third round

The American boasted to fans that he had claimed a ‘big paycheque’ by reaching the third round

Collins also blew kisses to fans and said she would use her paycheck for a luxury vacation

Collins also blew kisses to fans and said she would use her paycheck for a luxury vacation

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The tournament’s 10th seed later doubled down on her on-court comments during her press conference.

Collins said, “Well, I’m going to be here for two hours, putting up with all these people, I might as well take the bigger paycheck, right?”

“I was super happy to do that and one of the best things about being a professional athlete is that the people who don’t like you and hate you actually pay your bills.

“It’s a pretty cool concept and obviously my professional career isn’t going to last forever and I remind myself every day that they pay my bills when I have stuff like that.

“Anyone who bought a ticket and came here to harass me can do what he’s doing. It all goes to the Danielle Collins fund. So yeah, bring it on, I love it.”

When asked about her vacation plans, Collins expressed a desire for a luxury trip to a specific location.

“Me and my girlfriends love a five-star vacation, so I can guarantee the next check will go to a five-star trip, hopefully to the Bahamas.

‘We love boats. Big boats. We love yachts. Yeah, we’ll post about it and let you know how it goes.”