Danielle Collins was ‘funny’ and ‘smart’, says Djokovic after storming into fourth round

“[I’m] big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now, big fan – I love it.

“I think she handled it really well. I don’t think I would be that polite, and I know exactly the feeling. So I think she was funny, smart, and [I’m] just big fan of what she did.”

The 24-time grand slam champion was open to the idea of tennis continuing to evolve with the way spectators are treated.

“We have the history and tradition that we are proud of and makes our sport different from other sports, but at the same time I think we have been a little bit behind the other sports with changes and trying to keep the pace with the evolution of society and the new generation that we all know doesn’t have that much of a great attention span,” he said.

“For example, the last couple of years I think only that we have this new rule where people are able to come in even if it’s not a changeover.

“That’s one of the ways to really try to open up a bit more and not have strict rules.”

Djokovic did issue caution about tennis making wholesale changes too quickly and noted how the four slams take different approaches. The US Open – held in Queens, New York – “know very well what entertainment is about”, he said.

“[But] It’s not easy for players, I guess. I mean, from my side, [it’s] not easy to go from one end to another extreme and just let everybody say whatever they want to say – talk, scream during the point.

“We know Wimbledon is the most conservative.

“With Wimbledon I wouldn’t change much. I would keep it as it is because it’s so unique, all white and strawberries and cream, and everything about it is just so elegant and classy.”

During his on-court interview immediately after his clinical 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory to set up a fourth-round clash against Czech Jiri Lehecka, Djokovic was interrupted by a patron who he’d clashed with multiple times during the match.

“We can have a drink though. Maybe you had a few already,” Djokovic said of the heckler on Channel Nine.

“Him and I were going back and forth for quite a while.

“Listen, I’m happy to have a drink with him, now that the match is over.

“We can reflect nicely on what we said to each other during the match.”

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