Aus Open final crowd to ‘anger’ Novak Djokovic with Tsitsipas gesture

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Stefanos Tsitsipas may not want the majority of the support in the Australian Open final as Todd Woodbridge believes an “angry” Novak Djokovic would be dangerous for the Greek star. The Rod Laver Arena is set to be packed for what is expected to be a closely-fought match between Tsitsipas and Djokovic.

The Serbian tennis icon holds the edge over his close rivals having not lost at the Australian Open since way back in 2018. That incredible run of form in Melbourne Park makes playing Djokovic one of the most daunting tasks.

Despite that success, Djokovic has still struggled to win over the majority of crowds during matches in Australia, who are often rooting for the underdog. Tsitsipas will be that underdog and Woodbridge believes many neutral fans will side with the No 3 seed.

“The crowd is going to be really fascinating because they will play a major part in it,” Woodbridge said to Wide World of Sports. “I think that predominantly the people that are sitting on the fence will go for him (Tsitsipas).”

But Woodbridge goes on to say that having the crowd on his side may not end up being a good thing for Tsitsipas. “If you’re Stefanos I’m not so sure you want the crowd to be going for you really vocally because he (Djokovic) takes that energy,” he added.

“He then uses that to hone in and focus and he turns it somehow into a positive. You’ve got to watch out for a Novak that gets a little bit angry like that with the crowd because you can make him play better. So we’ll see how all of that plays out.

“It’s going to be quite interesting.” Djokovic has already had a number of disruptions throughout his matches in the tournament.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion has cut a frustrated figure at times with some spectators seemingly targeting him on a regular basis. But he’s hopeful that won’t be the case in today’s final against Tsitsipas.

“I hope that all the people who are going to come to the finals are going to be there for tennis and sport because that’s what we all wish for,” Djokovic said. “We all wish that players, fans focus on tennis, celebrate this beautiful sport, marvel one of the most special matches throughout the year, which is slam final. There is four slams, and this is one of them.

“Again, I’m really excited and privileged to be in that finals against Tsitsipas. You mentioned communities, Serbian and Greek communities, are big, for sure. The Serbs and Greeks historically get along very well. I just don’t think there’s going to be any conflict on and off the court in terms of the crowd.”

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