‘Calm down, you jerk’: Djokovic apologies after losing cool in Australian Open battle

Novak Djokovic chalked up his 400th Grand Slam victory with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 defeat of Botic van de Zandschulp to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday, but the Serb was fortunate not to receive a code violation after losing his cool.

Djokovic opened the evening session on a steamy day when play continued under the main show court roofs and eased to a 5-3 lead before firing a sublime backhand crosscourt winner and celebrating with his arms out to mimic a plane. He endured minor turbulence after that point, but had no trouble taking full flight again as he broke in the opening game of the second set when a deflated Van de Zandschulp fired his backhand long.

While up 4-2, an infuriated Djokovic struck a ball that flew close to a ball kid stationed near the net. Though Djokovic avoided a code violation, the incident triggered memories of his 2020 US Open default for striking a line judge.

Up two sets, Djokovic had treatment for a blister on his foot after a tumble and rallied from a break down before holding his nerve in the tie-break to set up a match with the 16th seed, Jakub Mensik, or Ethan Quinn. With his 102nd victory in Melbourne, he equalled six-times champion Roger Federer’s record at the year’s first major.

Djokovic said he had lost control of his emotions when asked what advice he would give to his younger self? “Calm down, you jerk,” Djokovic said.

“I’m too stressed on the court very often. Too much tension at times. I would say patience is a big one. When we are younger, regardless of the area of life we are involved in, we want everything here and now, today.

“Just having a bit of patience and trust in the process – and surrounding yourself with the right people – that’s one of the biggest keys early on in the career of the young player. You have to build your character so you understand what kind of people you want around. People who can connect with you on a private level.

“There has to be a good chemistry, there has to be a good atmosphere, from which you can extract good vibes and good energy that can serve you for your great performance.”

Earlier in the day, extreme temperatures triggered the Australian Open’s heat protocols, wreaking havoc on the day’s schedule and forcing fans to go without tennis on the outside courts for much of the afternoon.

The defending champion, Jannik Sinner, was one of the beneficiaries of the heat protocols being implemented, the Italian struggling with cramps and down a break in the third set against American world No 85 Eliot Spizzirri.

Sinner recovered to win in four sets despite the earlier drama, as Melbourne temperatures climbed towards 40 degrees in the afternoon and play was suspended on outer courts until 5.30pm at the earliest.

The Australian Open’s heat stress scale triggered a suspension at about 2.30pm, just as Sinner was beginning to severely cramp during his third round match against Spizzirri.

Play on the outside courts was paused, and arena roofs were closed. When the players returned to centre court after a break of about 10 minutes, Sinner immediately broke back and looked far more like the athlete that has won the past two men’s singles titles at Melbourne Park.

The Australian Open issued a statement on social media at 2.36pm saying: “The AO Heat Stress Scale is above 5.0. Play is suspended for all matches and practice on outside courts. The roofs on RLA [Rod Laver Arena], MCA [Margaret Court Arena] and JCA [John Cain Arena] will close and remain closed for the remainder of the match. If onsite, please seek shade and apply cooling strategies.”

The scale is based on radiant heat, humidity, air temperature and wind speed. When a level 4 is reached, a 10-minute break between sets, once per match, is introduced. When the scale reaches 5, the roof is closed or – if a match is on an outer court – play is suspended.

Sinner had already looked off his game before he began cramping and dropped the first set against Spizzirri. The Italian was applying multiple ice packs during changeovers and using a personal air conditioner while seated. During his fourth-round match at last year’s tournament, Sinner appeared to suffer from heat exhaustion, but still managed to beat Holger Rune in four sets.

With the roof closed and the temperature in Rod Laver Arena back in the 20s, Sinner booked his place in the fourth round, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in close to four hours.

Earlier, the defending women’s singles champion, Madison Keys, brushed past Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-3 in just 75 minutes to book a last 16 clash against Jessica Pegula.

The American said although she was ready for the heat, she gave herself a “pat on the back” for navigating a match against the former world No 1 with the minimum of fuss. “I was excited for the heat today. Being a Floridian, I was ready for it,” Keys said. “Overall, I’m feeling really good and happy to have some clean matches.”

Naomi Osaka withdrew ahead of her third-round match because of an abdominal injury.

The two-time former champion had been due to face Australian Maddison Inglis in the night session on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday but announced shortly before the contest that she would not be able to take to the court.

Osaka has a history of abdominal problems and retired during her third-round match last year against Belinda Bencic after a set.

Writing on Instagram, Osaka said: “I’ve had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body needs attention for after my last match.

“I was so excited to keep going and this run meant the most to me, so having to stop here breaks my heart but I can’t risk doing any further damage so I can get back on the court.”

Second seed Iga Swiatek recovered from a second-set drubbing to beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-1 1-6 6-1 but it was the end of the road for two teenagers, with Nikola Bartunkova beaten by Elise Mertens and Tereza Valentova losing to fifth seed Elena Rybakina. − Guardian

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