Australian Open - 'Appeal for silence' - Novak Djokovic shushes crowd with Daniil Medvedev serving

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 21/02/2021 at 14:35 GMT

World number one Novak Djokovic had to appeal for silence on his opponent's serve on numerous occasions as the raucous crowd on Rod Laver Arena let their emotions get the better of them during the final with Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic had to shush the fans as they got increasingly noisy during the heated clash at Melbourne Park.

Novak Djokovic had to repeatedly shush the wild fans on Rod Laver Arena during the noisy final with Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open.

The top seed, who ended up winning in straight sets to clinch his ninth title at Melbourne Park and 18 Grand Slam, had to appeal to the fans to be quiet on numerous occasions in the second set.

Particularly at one point when he broke Medvedev's serve for the second time in succession to race into a 3-1 lead after taking the opening set, the Serb had to make his feelings clear.

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With the crowd increasingly loud, Djokovic twice turned and put his finger to his lips to plead for some quiet.

If anything, it was a considerate gesture with Medvedev serving, and the Russian could not keep his composure as he was broken in two straight games to hand his opponent a clear lead.

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'Pleading for silence' - Djokovic shushes crowd and breaks serve

"Djokovic has again appealed for silence," noted Eurosport commentator Frew McMillan.

"The umpire has responded and done the right thing by asking the crowd to cool it."

While the fans continued to be as raucous as ever thereafter, Djokovic did at least attempt to keep them in check by imploring for less noise around the serves.

Medvedev even had to stop serving at one point late in the third set as the noise continued.

'Please' - Medvedev pleads for quiet as he serves against Djokovic

Djokovic defended his title yet again with an immense display of serving and counter-punching from the baseline as Medvedev's run of 20 successive wins came to an abrupt end.

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It was another remarkable triumph for the 33-year-old, who has now won a staggering 18 Grand Slam titles and is within just two of the tallies racked up by rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

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