Novak Djokovic backs Danielle Collins’ approach to dealing with boisterous fans

Novak Djokovic declared himself a big fan of Danielle Collins’ approach to rowdy Australian Open fans after confronting his own heckler at Melbourne Park.

Collins made a big show of taunting the crowd after her late-night victory over home hope Destanee Aiava on Thursday, blowing kisses, cupping her hand to her ear and slapping her backside, before declaring she loved the dissenters because they are “paying my bills”.

The American has been criticised in some quarters but Djokovic believes she was more than justified, saying after his 6-1 6-4 6-4 win over Tomas Machac: “I loved her response.

“I loved it, everything she said on the court, off the court. Big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now, big fan

“I heard some comments of people that she shouldn’t have said that. I think she handled it really well. I don’t think I would be that polite, and I know exactly the feeling. So I think she was funny, smart, and just big fan of what she did.”

Djokovic had a back-and-forth commentary with one fan during his match and, after sealing victory, he gestured in the supporter’s direction.

“I understand you have a few drinks more and then you get into it,” he said when asked if some people take it too far.

“But on the court it’s frustrating, and it comes in a bad moment. If it’s repetitive, it happens for an hour, somebody tells you in the corner things that you don’t want to hear and constant provoking, then of course it comes to the point where you just respond.

“So I tried to tolerate but then at one point I had to respond.”

There was not much else to frustrate Djokovic, who played by some distance his best match of the tournament against a dangerous opponent.

Coach Andy Murray could sit comfortably courtside barring one brief spell at the start of the second set when Djokovic dropped serve and then took a medical timeout for what appeared to be breathing problems.

“I didn’t have too many drops in the concentration and the level of tennis,” said the seventh seed, who has never lost a third-round match in Melbourne.

“Physically I struggled at the beginning of the second for those 15, 20 minutes but I managed to turn things around from an early break loss in the second. In the third I felt fresher and played really well to close out the match.

Djokovic next faces another Czech in Jiri Lehecka, who had no trouble seeing off France’s Benjamin Bonzi 6-2 6-3 6-3.

Carlos Alcaraz dropped his first set of the tournament to Portugal’s Nuno Borges but recovered strongly to post a 6-2 6-4 6-7 (3) 6-2 victory.

Learner Tien, who knocked out Daniil Medvedev in a late-night epic, is now the only teenager remaining in the men’s draw after Czech Jakub Mensik fell to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Mensik, 19, led by two sets to love but Spaniard Davidovich Fokina, who recovered from the same position against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round, did it again, winning 3-6 4-6 7-6 (7) 6-4 6-2, saving two match points in the third-set tie-break.

He next plays 12th seed Tommy Paul, who eased to a 7-6 (0) 6-2 6-0 victory over Roberto Carballes Baena.

Fourteenth seed Ugo Humbert benefited from the retirement of fellow Frenchman Arthur Fils through injury and will next play second seed Alexander Zverev.