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Novak Djokovic has been accused of cheating after he appeared to receive advice from his coach’s box during a match via a note attached to a water bottle.
In a TikTok video which is going viral in the lead-up to his fourth-round stoush with last remaining Aussie hope, Alex de Minaur, it appears a member of his entourage sitting next to coach Goran Ivanisevic puts the note on the bottle and hands it to an on-court official.
He then walks across court to hand it to Djokovic during a change of ends in the second-round clash with Enzo Couacaud. Djokovic tosses the bottle aside and reads the note.
The match against the French qualifier should have been a walk in the park for the former world No.1 but he struggled in the second set, losing it in a tie-break, before going on to win 6-1 6-7 6-2 6-0.
Djokovic caused major headlines last year when he entered the country and was then deported for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and despite making it through to the final 16, he has been struggling with a hamstring injury.
The indomitable nine-time champion stands between de Minaur and a spot in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the first time.
The 23-year-old is ever respectful of the 21-time major winner, but certainly not fearful entering the fourth-round blockbuster on Rod Laver Arena.
Nor will de Minaur be dwelling on the fact Djokovic is managing a hamstring issue that has required medical treatment through his opening three matches this campaign.
“Look, I’m not going to read into too much of that injury,” de Minaur said. “Ultimately he’s one of the best players in the world, and I’m just going to have to take it to him and not shy away from the occasion.
(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
“I’m going to make sure to make it as tough as I can and just bring the recent experience I’ve had on court and how I’ve been feeling.
“Just ultimately it’s not shy away from the opportunity and the occasion. I mean, these are the matches I want.
“It’s going to be exciting. I will get fired up, get the crowd behind me, and I’ll definitely have a good time.”
Djokovic is unbeaten at Melbourne Park since a third-round loss in 2018.
The Serb has encountered – and overcome – all manner of challenges on his beloved Laver Arena and is ready for a new one in de Minaur.
“Obviously de Minaur is one of the quickest players on the tour – probably the quickest guy,” Djokovic said.
“He has improved a lot and obviously he has Lleyton Hewitt in his corner, a multiple grand slam winner, (former) No.1 in the world. That’s a great team.
“I’m sure that the atmosphere will be electric and he’s going to have a lot of support, and he’s going to be pumped to try to win the match.
Alex de Minaur. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
“But I’ve had experiences before. I played Lleyton Hewitt here. I played some big Aussie players, so I know how that feels. I know what to expect.”
Djokovic or de Minaur will meet Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev or Danish world No.10 Hulger Rune on Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals.
Monday’s remaining two men’s fourth-round matches feature Spanish world No.25 Roberto Bautista-Agut against unseeded American Tommy Paul and the all-US battle between Ben Shelton and JJ Wolf.
Women’s world No.4 Caroline Garcia and fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka also continue their title quests on day eight.
Garcia plays Magda Linette and Sabalenka faces Swiss 12th seed Belinda Bencic in a showdown between this month’s two Adelaide International champions.
American ace Jessica Pegula has booked her third successive Australian Open quarter-final appearance after sweeping aside Barbora Krejcikova in another straight sets victory.
The highest-ranked player left in the draw following Sunday’s shock elimination of top seed Iga Swiatek, world No.3 Pegula is yet to drop a set at Melbourne Park.
Pegula, whose family owns NFL team the Buffalo Bills and also NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, is the last American left in the draw with Coco Gauff also making a surprise exit.
Pegula overcame 2021 French Open singles champion Krejcikova, who won three women’s doubles grand slam titles in 2022, 7-5 6-2.
Ousted by champion Ash Barty in the final eight last year, Pegula is looking to make her first grand slam semi-final and entered the tournament in sizzling form after winning four of her five matches for the US in the United Cup including a 6-2 6-2 thumping of Swiatek.
While she raced through the second set the 28-year-old endured some frustration late in the first, needing five break points to go ahead 6-5 before serving out the set.
She only converted five of 18 break points for the match against the 20th-seeded Krejcikova, who has been ranked as high as world No.2.
“That one return game that I was able to grind out even though it was really long, I’m proud of how I fought at game,” Pegula said.
“I had a lot of break point chances in the first set and I didn’t really convert many of them but then after I scraped that first set out I was able to return really well.
“I definitely think I returned really well once I started getting more of a feel for her serve.”
Pegula, who’s also into the third round of the women’s doubles with Gauff, will face her friend Victoria Azarenka in the quarters after the Belarusian two-time Open champ came back from a set down to defeat Chinese sensation Zhu Lin 4-6 6-1 6-4.
Jiri Lehecka has warned his giant-killing run at the Australian Open is “not over” after booking a spot in the quarter-finals with a stunning upset of Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The unseeded Czech fought back from a set down and held his nerve in the deciding tiebreaker to complete a shock 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-3) victory over the sixth seed on Sunday.
“Honestly, it feels amazing,” Lehecka said. “It’s tough for me to find some words because what we’ve been through last year (losing in the first round) and now coming back to Australia, if somebody had told me before the tournament that I would play like this, I wouldn’t believe him. I’m super happy that I’m through and, yeah, excited.”
World No.71 Lehecka had never previously won a match at a grand slam in four attempts.
But the 21-year-old has now knocked out seeded rivals Borna Coric (21), Cameron Norrie (11) and Auger-Aliassime, as well as American wildcard Christopher Eubanks.
Next, he takes on third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who outlasted Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 in a gruelling four-hour battle.
“The run is not over,” Lehecka said.
Karen Khachanov is also through to the quarter-finals, having continued his grand slam renaissance with a straight-sets mauling of Yoshihito Nishioka.
Khachanov won the first 14 games of the match en route to a 6-0 6-0 7-6 (7-4) victory over the Japanese 31st seed.
With 15 aces and 30 winners, the big-serving Russian ultimately needed less than two hours to progress and book a last-eight clash on Tuesday with rising American Sebastian Korda.
Korda knocked out 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz in a five-set thriller, prevailing 3-6 6-3 6-2 1-6 7-6 (10-7).
It was the fifth match in the men’s tournament decided by a fifth-set tiebreaker.
“I got a little superstitious with the towel. The towel got me through it,” he said. “Every time I went to the towel, I won the point. So I just kept going to it.”
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina upset world No.1 Iga Swiatek, booking her spot in the quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-4 win. Swiatek was favourite to win her first Open title but had no answers to the big-serving 22nd seed.
STAT OF THE DAY: Karen Khachanov won the first 14 games of his fourth-round match as he produced a 6-0 6-0 7-6 (7-4) mauling of Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. Khachanov defeated Nick Kyrgios in the quarter-finals of last year’s US Open and has rediscovered the form that thrust him into the world’s top 10 four years ago.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I got a little superstitious with the towel. The towel got me through it. Every time I went to the towel, I won the point, so I just kept going to it.” – American rising star Sebastian Korda reveals an unusual secret to his success in a rollercoaster match tiebreaker against Hubert Hurkacz.
TOURNAMENT SUMMARY: Upsets grabbed the headlines as unseeded Czech Jiri Lehecka continued his giant-killing run with a four-set triumph over Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime and Rybakina sent Swiatek packing. World No.7 Coco Gauff was reduced to tears after her straight-sets defeat to big-hitting Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, but American third seed Jessica Pegula advanced at the expense of Barbora Krejcikova.
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