Novak Djokovic has acknowledged he was fortunate to remain in the Australian Open after a moment of frustration nearly saw him thrown out of the tournament.
The Serbian star came perilously close to striking a ball kid during his third-round encounter with Botic van de Zandschulp on Saturday, with the ball passing less than a metre from the youngster.
Following his straight-sets triumph of 6-3 6-4 7-6(4), the 10-time Melbourne champion conceded the incident could have ended his campaign.
"Yeah, I apologised for that," Djokovic said when asked if he felt lucky to still be competing.
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"That was not necessary and in the heat of the moment. Yeah, I was lucky there, and I'm sorry for causing any distress to the ball kid or anybody."
The incident occurred during the second set when the fourth seed struck a ball away after Van de Zandschulp had sent a shot long, with the ball narrowly missing a ball kid positioned at the side of the court.
Djokovic immediately raised his arm in apology, but television commentator Colin Fleming was alarmed by how close the situation came to disaster.
Novak Djokovic has acknowledged he was fortunate to remain in the Australian Open after a moment of frustration nearly saw him thrown out of the tournament
|GETTY
"Careful that was almost a default. That was so close to a default," Fleming remarked during the broadcast.
Upon reviewing slow-motion footage of the moment, the commentator expressed his astonishment that officials had not intervened.
"I'm a little surprised that it isn't a code violation, actually. Oh my goodness, that's less than a metre from a default," Fleming observed.
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Novak Djokovic nearly hit a ballkid while smashing the ball away against Botic Van de Zandschulp.
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) January 24, 2026
Had it hit the ballkid he would be looking at a possible disqualification..
Umpire didn’t give out a warning.pic.twitter.com/0l9SjKAECX
The near-miss will inevitably draw comparisons to Djokovic's infamous exit from the 2020 US Open, when he was disqualified for accidentally hitting a lineswoman with a ball.
On that occasion, the former world No 1 had grown frustrated after being broken to trail Pablo Carreno Busta 6-5, pulling a ball from his pocket and striking it away in anger, only for it to hit the official.
Despite Saturday's scare, the 38-year-old has progressed to the second week in Melbourne for the 18th time in his career.
Djokovic remains untroubled so far, having not dropped a set through three rounds.
The Serbian will be mindful of conserving energy for potential clashes with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in the latter stages.
In his post-match interview, meanwhile, Djokovic was asked what advice he would give to his younger self after keeping his hopes of glory alive.
Novak Djokovic is yet to drop a set at the 2026 Australian Open
| GETTY“Calm down, you jerk,” the veteran replied.
“I’m too stressed on the court very often. Too much tension at times.
"I would say patience is a big one. When we are younger, regardless of the area of life we are involved in, I think we want everything here and now, today.
“Just having a bit of patience and trust in the process – and surrounding yourself with the right people, I think that’s a big one – that’s one of the biggest keys I think early on in the career of the young tennis player.
"You have to build your character so you understand what kind of people you want around yourself.
“People who can connect with you on a private level … There has to be a good chemistry, there has to be a good atmosphere, from which you can extract good vibes and good energy that can serve you for your great performance.”