Former Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova accused Novak Djokovic of purposefully creating unnecessary drama in the ongoing Australian Open 2024 saying the Serb messes with fans to “fire him up” on the court.
Navratilova, a three-time Australian Open triumphant, stated that everything Djokovic does on the court, including his brief encounters with the fans, is all part of his plan that helps him motivate further.
"He kind of reminds me of John McEnroe, creating a drama to get himself going," she told the Tennis Channel Live podcast. "And sometimes, Novak does that with fans, he just picks on one and it gets him fired up.
"But you know, whatever works. Sometimes, when the crowd gets negative on you, he goes negative, but it works for him. At the end of the day, he wins most of those matches even though he looks like he's losing it emotionally, you know. But he never loses a point because of that, I think it just gives him extra energy."
Despite a not-so-great start to his Australian Open campaign where the Serb lost a set to the teenager Dino Prizmic in the first round and also confronted a fan before finally winning against the Croatian after a four-setter.
However, he picked up form after struggling in the first two rounds as he recorded dominant wins over Andy Murray’s victor, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, without dropping a set in the third round.
That was not it, Djokovic’s fourth-round win over Adrian Mannarino was even more dominant, as the Serb sent serious warnings to everyone that he might just be back in time.
Djokovic battered Mannarino 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 in a dominant display without even dropping a game in the first two sets.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner’s next encounter is against Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.
