Novak Djokovic turns on Aussie crowd over unsporting act

World No.1 Novak Djokovic is safely through to the Australian Open fourth round after seeing off young Canadian Denis Shapovalov and bizarre situations with the stadium lights and Melbourne crowd.

After a third-set blip, Djokovic overcame the 19-year-old 25th seed 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-0 in their Saturday afternoon clash on Rod Laver Arena.

Despite taking place in sunshine, the lights were switched on to begin the third set.

Progressively frustrated by the change and his opponent’s improving form, Djokovic went on to lose that frame after turning on the crowd.

He was miffed when the locals erupted in cheers after he served a double fault that gave Shapovalov a break in the third set to go up 5-4.

The Serb gave the crowd a sarcastic thumbs up as he walked to his chair:

Having dropped the frame in the next game, Djokovic left the court between sets.

He regained his composure and focus for the fourth set and didn’t give his opponent a sniff in the final six games.

“I tried to stay in the moment and weather the storm,” he said of his stint off the court.

“I made some unforced errors and got him back in the match and then he showed the quality that will make him a player of the future.”

He briefly left the court to compose himself before winning the next six games to end the match.

Following the contest, Djokovic questioned why officials thought television viewers needed more light from inside the stadium.

“I think there was no sense to turn on the lights on the court at 5pm and we have another four hours of daylight. I don’t know,” he said before engaging the crowd for a complete 360-degree turn.

“Did you guys see the ball well? I saw them well too. I thought it was completely unnecessary and the explanation that I got was for TV reasons, so I hope the viewers enjoyed it.”

The top seed next takes on Russian Daniil Medvedev, who earlier accounted for Belgian David Goffin in straight sets.

Djokovic has now won 17 consecutive matches at grand slams, including the Wimbledon and US Open titles, and kept him on track for a record seventh Australian Open crown.

with AAP