- Djokovic not happy with new rule at Australian Open
- Fans are now allowed to move around between matches
- Serbian superstar revealed he was not feeling well
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has blasted fans and organizers after an incident involving rowdy fans during his Australian Open first-round match against teenage rival Dino Prizmic.
Djokovic’s opening round match lasted four hours and one minute. The Croatian wildcard won the second set 7-6 and pushed the Serbian to the limit before succumbing to a four-set defeat.
The Serbian superstar at one point during the second set shouted at the fans to shut up and gave a serve to Open organizers about a new rule that will allow fans to move around the stadium between matches, instead of the traditional change of ends.
Djokovic said he was unaware of the new rule and said it had a negative impact on his match and not the positive impact tournament organizers were hoping for.
“I didn’t know anything about that new policy or rule,” he said.
Djokovic had to work hard for his win over teenage rival Dino Prizmic – and wasn’t happy about a rule change that left him distracted by noisy fans
“Look, I mean, I understand the motive behind it is to improve the fan experience, right? We play for fans. We want fans to have a great, exciting experience on the pitch.
‘It’s difficult, I must say. I understand that and support it to a certain extent, but at the same time I have been used to a certain atmosphere my whole career, my whole life. When that changes, it gets a little messy and distracting.
“Today we lost quite a bit of time when they allowed people to come to their seats even though it wasn’t a changeover. My opponent waited for them to sit down. It dragged a lot.
“I don’t know if this is really the best rule, but I understand that it’s probably better from a tournament and fan perspective because they don’t want to wait. They want to come out and enjoy every point.
“In a way, I’m a bit divided between the two.”
Djokovic also revealed that he still wasn’t feeling 100 percent after the win, as he wasn’t feeling well coming into the tournament.
‘Yes, I have been a bit confused for the last, yes, four or five days. You can probably judge it by my voice,” he said after the win.
‘Look, it is what it is. You just have to try to deal with it and get over it, accept the circumstances and make the best of it.
The Serbian champion alerted Australia Open organizers to a new rule allowing fans to move around the stadium between matches
Djokovic also revealed that he started the tournament feeling unwell and is still not fully healthy
‘I will discuss with my team tomorrow, see if I can maybe skip the training tomorrow, the tennis training. Maybe do some light work, gym, jogging, some specific exercises to keep my body in shape.
“I mean, last year I didn’t really practice in between games. It was different circumstances because I got hurt. I think with two days it’s quite useful after a four-hour opening round.’