Aleksander Vukic loses to Jack Draper; Novak Djokovic supportive of Danielle Collins booed by crowd after mocking gestures following Destanee Aiava win; Melbourne Park; results; schedule; draw

“It’s just sad that I can’t play it again until next year,” he said. “But it’s something that I’m so happy that I also experienced, and hopefully keep experiencing.”

Vukic looked dead and buried when he was double break point down while already trailing 3-1 in the final set, but he surged back into contention to continue a match of wild momentum swings.

He was a break up in the opening set, which he lost, then raced to a 5-0 lead in the second as Draper briefly went off the boil.

The third set was an engrossing affair that edged in Vukic’s favour when Draper double-faulted at five-all to hand over the break. However, the Australian had to rally from 15-40 in the next game to clinch a two-sets-to-one edge.

Neither player could capitalise on a combined nine break points in the fourth set – two of them set points for Draper – but the Brit played consecutive great points to level the match in a tiebreaker.
The match tiebreak in the final set summed up the rollercoaster contest.

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With Vukic serving with a 6-5 advantage, Draper chased down a volley and whipped a forehand winner, but was incredibly close to touching the net.

The decisive moment came when Vukic dumped a backhand slice into the net after chasing down another Draper drop shot to award his rival two match points.

One more powerful Draper serve down the T sealed him a round-of-16 clash with four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt was in the crowd to watch Vukic, and has some headaches ahead of the tie in Stockholm against Sweden that starts at the end of this month.
Squad members Nick Kyrgios (abdominal strain), Thanasi Kokkinakis (pectoral muscle) and Jordan Thompson (foot) are all under an injury cloud, while Alexei Popyrin (glute and abdominal) also exited the tournament with niggles.

This looms as Vukic’s best chance to break into the team, but the world No.68 said there had not been any communication with him at this stage.

“Representing Australia would be such a privilege,” he said. “I get to experience it week in, week out, and obviously it would be in a different format if it does happen.

“Obviously, a few guys are injured, and Lleyton was there, and it was very nice to have his support [but] my full focus was on the match.”

Collins was ‘funny’ and ‘smart’, says Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is “just a big fan” of Danielle Collins and says the way the feisty American – a pantomime villain at this year’s Australian Open – mocked rowdy fans at Melbourne Park was funny and smart.

The 10-time Australian Open champion had his own clash with at least one spectator during his third-round victory over Czech Tomas Machac on Rod Laver Arena on Friday night.

Collins, the player who Ash Barty beat in the final to win the 2022 Australian Open, clashed with spectators during her three-setter against Melburnian Destanee Aiava on the compact Kia Arena on Thursday.

The American celebrated her victory by cupping her ear to the pro-Aiava crowd and repeatedly saying, “How about that?” before playfully kissing her hand and then slapping her backside as she walked to her chair.

The Kia Arena crowd showered Collins with boos – stopping only to cheer Aiava as she walked from the court, prompting Collins to grab the microphone in her post-match interview.

“I was thinking during the match, if I’m out here, I might as well take that big fat pay cheque and go on a holiday,” Collins said.

Former world No.1 Djokovic broke out in a big smile when asked about Collins and the way she handled the interactions with fans.

“I loved her response. I loved it, everything she said on the court, off the court,” said the 37-year-old.

“[I’m] big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now, big fan – I love it.

“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 [I’m] just big fan of what she did.”

The 24-time grand slam champion was open to the idea of tennis continuing to evolve with the way spectators are treated.

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“We have the history and tradition that we are proud of and makes our sport different from other sports, but at the same time I think we have been a little bit behind the other sports with changes and trying to keep the pace with the evolution of society and the new generation that we all know doesn’t have that much of a great attention span,” he said.

“For example, the last couple of years I think only that we have this new rule where people are able to come in even if it’s not a changeover.

“That’s one of the ways to really try to open up a bit more and not have strict rules.”

Djokovic did issue caution about tennis making wholesale changes too quickly and noted how the four slams take different approaches. The US Open – held in Queens, New York – “know very well what entertainment is about”, he said.

“[But] It’s not easy for players, I guess. I mean, from my side, [it’s] not easy to go from one end to another extreme and just let everybody say whatever they want to say – talk, scream during the point.

“We know Wimbledon is the most conservative.

“With Wimbledon I wouldn’t change much. I would keep it as it is because it’s so unique, all white and strawberries and cream, and everything about it is just so elegant and classy.”

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During his on-court interview immediately after his clinical 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory to set up a fourth-round clash against Czech Jiri Lehecka, Djokovic was interrupted by a patron who he’d clashed with multiple times during the match.

“We can have a drink though. Maybe you had a few already,” Djokovic said of the heckler on Channel Nine.

“Him and I were going back and forth for quite a while.

“Listen, I’m happy to have a drink with him, now that the match is over.

“We can reflect nicely on what we said to each other during the match.”

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