Jordan Thompson has labelled the Australian Open the "wokest tournament ever" after he was informed about the new relaxed fan rules during his five-set win over compatriot Aleksander Vukic.
The new policy which was introduced this year, allows spectators to move seats in between games. It has been traditional in tennis for spectators to be forced to wait outside the stadium doors until a change of ends before being able to move to or from the seats.
During a moment of tension in his all-Australian first-round clash, the world No.47 attempted to "shush" the crowd before asking the umpire to tell fans to take their seats.
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Many spectators left the match after a long rally in the previous game, which handed Vukic his first game of the second set.
The game lasted more than 10 minutes.
Thompson attempted to serve before Vukic also gestured towards the crowd.
"Can someone tell them that every time we're trying to play, they're talking?" Thompson asked the umpire.
"I'm trying my best," the umpire responded.
"Really?" Thompson questioned.
"You're kidding me. Oh my god, this is the wokest tournament ever."
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Thompson's comments echoed a similar sentiment from Novak Djokovic, who addressed the issue on Sunday night.
He said in a post-match interview he was "divided" over the policy change after showing visible frustration with the crowd during his testing four-set match against Croatian rising star Dino Prižmić.
"I did not know about that new policy or new rule," Djokovic said.
"I understand the motive behind it is to enhance and improve the experience for fans, right? We do play for fans. We want fans to have a great, thrilling experience."
Thompson triumphed over Vukic 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
The pair needed four hours and eight minutes to be separated as they continued to come back at each other.
Thompson will next face seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round.
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