Novak Djokovic put his frustrations with the Australian Open crowd aside to claim a straight-sets victory over Tomas Machac.
Djokovic needed four sets to beat Nishesh Basavareddy in round one and Jaime Faria in round two, but he prevailed 6-1 6-4 6-4 on Friday.
The 10-time Australian Open champion was less than impressed with sections of the crowd at Rod Laver Arena, while he also appeared to suffer with sickness at one stage in the second set.
He lashed out on multiple occasions at several fans shouting out during play, while he also offered some disgruntled looks towards his coach Andy Murray.
But Machac could not capitalise on Djokovic's frustrations or sickness, and the fired-up Serbian channelled his energy into a fantastic final service game.
Machac clawed back one point, but Djokovic got over the line with a sensationally crisp winner as his opponent charged towards the net.
"I'm very hot-headed right now," said the 24-time major winner, who offered a pointed look towards one of the apparent offenders in the crowd.
"I think I played really well, honestly. I'm relieved. I was slightly surprised with the result; he was a break up early in the second. I managed to change things around, hold my serve when I needed to. It could have gone either way.
"Overall, very pleased with my game – this is definitely the best match I've played."
91.5 - Novak Djokovic holds a win rate of 91.5% (151-14) at Grand Slam events since turning 30 – the best rate of any male or female player in the Open Era. Evergreen.#AO2025 | @AustralianOpen @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/EdPSoPYHCw
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 17, 2025
At one stage during his interview, a fan shouted out "Marry me, Novak!", to which Djokovic replied: "Sorry, mate. Maybe we can go for a drink. I think me and [him] could reflect on the things we said to each other tonight."
Data Debrief: Getting better with age
Djokovic holds a win rate of 91.5% (151-14) at grand slams since turning 30 – the best rate of any male or female player in the Open Era.
He has now won his past 56 ATP-level matches after taking the first set – his last such loss coming in the 2023 Wimbledon final.
The 37-year-old is 71-0 after taking the first two sets at the Australian Open. Only Roger Federer (80-0) has won more matches while remaining undefeated at the season's first major.
