Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was given a round of applause by giggling fans at the Australian Open on Friday over his response to a cheeky heckler.
The 59-year-old was in attendance at Rod Laver Arena as Novak Djokovic cruised through to the men’s final on Sunday with a thumping win over American Tommy Paul.
Albanese briefly stole the show during the one-sided encounter with a moment that was seen on the live TV coverage.
With the crowd in silence before the start of one of Paul’s service games, a spectator could be heard yelling out: “Give us a wave, ‘Albo’.”
Sitting alongside US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy Tennis Australia chair Jayne Hrdlicka, Albanese responded with a sheepish wave.
The crowd was giggling away at the exchange before the TV cameras showed Albanese chuckling with those around him.
Albanese was there to witness the superstar Serbian at his best. After a particularly impressive shot earlier in the match, Albanese pulled a face towards Hrdlicka that showed how stunned he was.
He was not the only one.
While scandal and controversy has followed Djokovic in Melbourne this month, the No. 5 seed left fans in awe on Friday night as he put Paul to the sword in the final two sets, winning 14 of the final 17 service games.
He’ll take on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the decider after the Greek star took care of business in four sets against Karen Khachanov to book a spot in his first ever Australian Open men’s final.
The winner of the final will take over as the number one ranked player in the world which would be the first time ever for Tsitsipas. The Greek star can also become the first player in the history of tennis to win a Grand Slam for Greece.
For Novak a win on Sunday would see him equal Rafael Nadal on the all-time Grand Slam winners list with 22.
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