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Novak Djokovic's crowd frustration peaks in Wimbledon win over Aussie

Jordan Thompson was amused by the difference in support for himself compared to the 23-time grand slam champ.

Novak Djokovic raises his finger to his ear.
Novak Djokovic gestured to the Wimbledon crowd after being slightly frustrated by the vocal support for his second-round opponent Jordan Thompson. (Photo by Shi Tang/Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic made a pointed gesture to the Wimbledon crowd immediately after defeating Aussie challenger Jordan Thompson to notch his 350th grand slam victory, yet again a sign of his somewhat antagonistic relationship with tennis fans. The hard fought but straight sets victory helped Djokovic step closer to Roger Federer's all-time record of 369 wins.

Holding a finger to his mouth after match point, Djokovic was clearly fired up after the crowd voiced their support for Thompson throughout the match. Whether there was a contingent of Aussie fans in the stand or whether it was the crowd backing a heavy underdog, Djokovic nevertheless felt he had a point to prove.

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One fan yelled out 'come on, stop him Jordan' mid-way through the second, as the Aussie played an impressive match to force a second set tiebreak, eventually going down 6-3, 7-6, 7-5. In many ways it was a typical Djokovic win - ramping up the pace early, then controlling the match by capitalising on the biggest points.

Still, on social media some fans believed the Wimbledon crowd continued to 'disprespect' Djokovic, who extended his winning streak on the All England centre court to 41 games. The 36-year-old has not lost on Wimbledon's main court since 2012.

It was Thompson after the match who perhaps best articulated the difference between champions like Federer and Rafael Nadal and Djokovic - who appears poised to surpass many of their records when he brings his own illustrious career to an end.

"So close, but so far," he shrugged. "I only hit two double faults in the match and one of them was in the tiebreak that gave him the lead. That's why he's the best, he just clutches up.

"But I think I served very well, don't think too many guys have got over 20 aces against him, so that's a pleasing stat, but I was still broken twice, beaten in straight sets. It felt the crowd were really behind me.

"One person didn't learn their lesson, yelling out '(his nickname) 'Nole!', then about a thousand back shouting my name. It was fun to be a part of.

"Rafa (Nadal), Roger (Federer) they're loved; Novak's highly, highly respected. But 23 grand slams, I can see why he's the greatest of all times and the leading grand slam titles. It (the crowd reaction) could be irritating for him, but I reckon I'd rather be in his shoes."

Tsitsipas sets up Murray showdown at Wimbledon

Elsewhere, it took two days, four hours and five sets to separate Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem at Wimbledon, and but for tiebreaks being introduced in recent years they might well still be playing. Tsitsipas is currently ranked fifth in the world and Austrian Thiem 91st, but both have been as high as No.3. And had the latter not spent more than a year fighting and returning from injury he would be a lot higher.

Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Stefanos Tsitsipas held off Dominic Thiem to make it through to Wimbledon's second round. (Photo by Shi Tang/Getty Images)

Ultimately it was Tsitsipas who prevailed on Wednesday, in a match of three tiebreakers 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (10-8), but the Greek has little time to celebrate. On Thursday the 24-year-old faces two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray on his Centre Court home. Murray may have a metal hip, but he spent Wednesday taking it easy after reaching the second round on Tuesday.

"It was pretty stressful I won't lie," said Tsitsipas. "Dominic is someone that has brought the best out of me every single time that we had the opportunity to play each other."

With AAP

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