During Novak Djokovic’s third-round match at the 2024 Australian Open, a heckler took a jibe at him over his decision to not take the COVID-19 vaccine.The 24-time Grand Slam champion advanced to the fourth round in Melbourne after downing Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(2) on Friday, January 19. Notably, this was his 100th appearance at the Happy Slam, the tournament he has won ten times thus far.
The Serb’s moment of victory was marked by a taunt hurled at him from the stands. When he prepared to serve for the match in the third-set tiebreak, someone from the crowd reportedly shouted “Get vaccinated”.The incident has invoked mixed reactions from tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter) with one section of the fans condemning the spectator’s words. A fan mentioned the behavior of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s fans, saying:
“Fedal fans would go to any extent to heckle Djokovic but it’s Djokovic fans who are “toxic”. Stuff like this happens way too many times coming from Fedal fans towards Novak and rarely the other way round. If you don’t like Novak stay home and cope in some other way.”
Another fan chimed in, saying:
“What kind of j*rks Djokovic has to face during his matches is crazy, then I have to read “Novak fans are toxic”. When exactly? Reacting to injustice and bad treatment is not toxic is just fair reaction. Federer and Nadal fans are way less classy and respectful during matches.”
