Novak Djokovic has always refused to get vaccinated against Covid-19 (Picture: Getty)
Novak Djokovic was told to ‘get vaccinated’ by a heckling fan and was handed a ‘ridiculous’ time violation at the Australian Open on Friday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion cruised past 30th-seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 6-3 7-6 to reach the fourth round and continue his title defence.
Djokovic has progressed to the last 16 at Melbourne Park for the 16th time in his career and now has registered 92 wins from 100 matches at the Australian Open.
There were controversial moments in the world No.1’s victory over Etcheverry, though, with one spectator yelling at Djokovic to ‘get vaccinated’.
Djokovic, looking to lift a record-extending 11th men’s singles title, responded with an ace on match point to close out his Argentine opponent in straight sets.
The heckler was referencing Djokovic’s refusal to get vaccinated against coronavirus which has seen the Serbian miss several key events in the past – including the US Open in 2022 – and also branded an ‘anti-vax poster boy’.
At the 2022 Australian Open, Djokovic was deported and spent time locked up in an immigration facility after being engulfed in a political row over Covid-19.
Novak Djokovic was slapped with a time violation in the third set (Picture: Getty)
During his victory over Etcheverry, Djokovic was also slapped with a time violation in the third set.
The incident occurred as Djokovic was serving at 1-1 as the 36-year-old took long and the clock expired.
The umpire’s decision angered Nick Kyrgios, on commentary duties for Eurosport, who said: ‘Not necessary. Ridiculous.
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‘Just ridiculousness. It’s like they get bored and just want to say something instead of the store. Ridiculous. It completely ruins the flow of the match.’
Djokovic was pleased with his win over Etcheverry in straight sets having needed four to overcome Alexei Popyrin and Dino Prizmic in his opening two matches.
‘It was a great match, the best performance I had during this tournament,’ Djokovic said. ‘I’m pleased with the way I played throughout the entire match, particularly the first two sets.’
Controversy at the Australian Open.