MELBOURNE: Alexei Popyrin's electric play sparked hope for the home fans at the Rod Laver Arena. And as long as that floated around the capacity space, for almost two hours of the Australian Open second-round meeting, the raucous crowd revelled in it.
Then a section of the stands crossed the line and started heckling the world No.1 Novak Djokovic, even shouting between serves. That might've been the needle that burst Popyrin's bubble as the ten-time champion roared to a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 win.
