- If punishments were given out for attempting accents, Novak Djokovic would have been slapped with a double fault.
- After beating Kei Nishikori in Wednesday's quarter-final, Djokovic stayed on court to give a post-match interview.
- He wished Nishikori well, as the Japanese player was forced to retire with a leg injury.
- But he then attempted an Australian accent by saying "mate," then "good on ya," before finally "fair dinkum."
- The crowd loved it… but it's probably best Djokovic does not give up his day job.
Novak Djokovic's attempt at an Australian accent left his fans in stitches on Wednesday.
Djokovic scored a quick win over Kei Nishikori in Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena, as the Japanese player was forced to retire in the second set of their Australian Open quarter-final clash. Djokovic was leading 6-1, 4-1 at the time.
But as Nishikori retreated down the player's tunnel to receive treatment for his leg injury, Djokovic remained on court to give a post-match interview.
Midway through the interview, Djokovic uttered three well-known Australian catchphrases. Much to the crowd's delight, he said "mate," then "good on ya," before finally "fair dinkum" - an Australian way of saying "for real" or if something is unquestionably good.
Djokovic's accent, however, was unquestionably bad.
Watch the segment right here:
It wasn't all light-hearted laughs, as Djokovic sent his best wishes to Nishikori, a player he said has given him many battles over the years. "I hope he can recover," Djokovic said, according to the Evening Standard.
"I hope it's not something very serious. I wish him a speedy recovery. I'm sorry to everybody for not having a full match but thank you for showing up."
Djokovic added that he is now into the semi-final stage, where he takes on Lucas Pouille, of France, on Friday, and will do all he can to proceed to Sunday's final against either old rival Rafael Nadal or promising youngster Stafanos Tsitsipas.
If Australian citizenship was based on the Aussie accent, we're not sure world No.1 @DjokerNole would pass 🤨😂#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/nWrPE97XRk
- #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2019