Novak Djokovic 'annoyed' by US Open fan and 'lucky' after hammering Taylor Fritz
Novak Djokovic is through to the semi-finals of the US Open after hammering Taylor Fritz
REUTERS
Novak Djokovic has revealed he was left 'annoyed' by a fan during his US Open win over Taylor Fritz on Tuesday night.
The Serb booked his place in the semi-finals of the competition with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
During the third set of the showdown, Djokovic was seen snapping at a fan in attendance.
The supporter in question was shouting out, distracting the 36-year-old in the process.
Novak Djokovic was 'pretty annoyed' by a US Open fan during his win over Taylor Fritz
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Two people were then caught on camera heading for the exits, with Djokovic then proceeding to win the set - and the match.
And the tennis star, speaking after the win, revealed he was left 'pretty annoyed' by the fan and his actions.
"Yeah, he did," said Djokovic when asked if the fan's shouting distracted him.
"He was actually in the box where some of my friends were. I don't know who the guy was, but yeah, I was pretty annoyed by him at that point.
"I was communicating with my friends to have a little chat with him.
"Sometimes you react, but most of the time you don't.
"I speak for myself. Obviously there is whatever per cent of the time you don't react. People speak, they move around.
"You've got to be ready for that, particularly in the US Open, especially in the night sessions.
"It just, you know, that's part of it. It's part of the sport, and I don't, you know, mostly I don't mind it, but in those important moments when you're all of a sudden under a lot of stress and you're facing a break point and then all of a sudden everything annoys you and distracts you, so then you react.
"That's, again, the heat of the moment and playing on the highest level.
"I'm actually glad the crowd wants to get into it, because it means that the match is interesting, that they want to be part of it, that they're having fun.
"At the end of the day, they pay tickets to come and watch you play, so we try to put on a show and perform for them so they go back home satisfied that they have been here and enjoyed their day.
"Sometimes you might have an interaction with the player, you know, like this guy today, I'm sorry for him, but he was really annoying at that point.
"And that's it, you know, it happens."
After beating Fritz to make a record 47th Grand Slam semi, Djokovic also paid tribute to those around him.
And the second seed said he was 'lucky' to have such a strong support network.
"This is the sport that has given me so much in my life," he said.
"Coming from Serbia, a war-torn country when I was growing up, I faced a lot of adversity.
"I was lucky to encounter some very knowledgeable and passionate people.
"Without their support, and my parents, I wouldn't be here without their love and incredible sacrifice.
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"That is the long answer for what goes through my head when I hear those numbers [of records he has broken]. There's a lot of things I am very grateful for."
Fritz, meanwhile, reacted to his defeat by saying: “If I could serve to the standards I know I can serve to, maybe I could work with something and it would be a closer match.
“Novak being Novak, he’ll make me feel like I’m serving worse than I am and in other matches I wouldn’t get punished as much for missing first serves.
“Against him, I have to hit my spots. That’s just the way it is. I served awful. It sucked.
“He was solid and I just didn’t perform at my best on the big points. It’s as simple as that.”