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via Reuters

via Reuters

Things haven’t exactly gone according to the plans for Novak Djokovic. The mighty Serb is defending his title at the Australian Open, but he is already showing signs of rustiness. Handed a fairly easy draw, much to the ire of tennis fans, the World Number 1 has had to toil hard to win his matches Down Under. Seemingly struggling to maintain his form, Djokovic has already lost a couple of sets. But nonetheless, he remains hopeful to be at his best soon.

Earlier today, the 24-time Grand Slam champion overcame the challenge of local boy Alexei Popyrin of Australia in four sets. But the Serb clearly labored through it, understanding that he could have done better.

In a candid revelation, Novak Djokovic hopes things will move in a better direction

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Following his second-round win over Alexei Popyrin, Novak Djokovic was involved in an interview with Eurosport. Acknowledging his flailing display, he talked about his performance while hoping to get back to his best soon.

via Getty

Djokovic said, “I don’t want to get into the details of how I feel. Definitely not playing or feeling my best. I’ve been in this kind of situation before, many times, and hopefully I’ll build as the tournament progresses.”

Further, he went on to add, “I know what I need to do, and the good thing about a Slam is that you always have an extra day of rest between matches. Hopefully things will go in a positive direction from here.”

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Djokovic, who hasn’t had the greatest of support from the crowd across the globe, was involved in a controversial event in today’s match. He was up against Popyrin, the Aussie star fans were vocal in supporting. Later, the Serb reacted to the incident that didn’t go down well with him.

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Fan heckles Nole in support of Popyrin

During the fourth set of the enticing contest between Djokovic and Popyrin, one fan present in the stadium made an inappropriate comment toward the Serb. The latter heard the comment and reacted angrily to it, and the match had a brief pause.

Later, Djokovic explained the situation, saying, “There was a lot of things that were being told to me on the court, particularly from that corner, and the same side the other corner. I was tolerating it for most of the match. At one point I had enough, and I asked him whether he wants to come down and tell it to my face.”

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Djokovic will look to find his dominating mojo back as he aims to defend his title. He’ll next face Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina in the third round.

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