How to handle Serena Williams mania at US Open? Copy Novak Djokovic trick, says next opponent Ajla Tomljanovic

Ajla Tomljanovic is already preparing mentally for her battle against Serena Williams and what will inevitably be a partisan US Open crowd on Friday night. The Williams farewell tour continues apace, and though the American has hinted she could yet hold off on retiring, spectators at Flushing Meadows have been backing the 40-year-old vociferously. Ad With each match potentially her last, Williams playing on the Arthur Ashe Stadium is the hottest ticket in town, and she takes on Ajla Tomljanovic next in Friday’s night session.

US Open'You're stealing points!’ — Gauff and Pegula fume at umpire after opponent calls let mid-point2 HOURS AGO And while Williams is accustomed to the atmosphere she is generating at this year’s Grand Slam, Tomljanovic admits she will have to use Novak Djokovic’s old trick when looking to spoil the party. “It will definitely be something I have never experienced yet,” Tomljanovic said, who recalled playing Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon last year. “I think maybe the closest thing to it was when I played Emma Court 1 in Wimby.

I remember coming off that match and thinking, ‘Wow, that was intense.’ I mean, it got to me a little bit, the volume of the crowd. US Open order of play, day 5 — when are Williams, Medvedev, and Murray playing? ‘GOAT’ Williams showed ‘seriously high quality’ in second round win — McEnroe The simply unquantifiable influence and legacy of Serena Williams — US Open Diary “But I remember Novak saying one time when they asked him a lot about this, when the crowd was against him, he just pretends it's for him. When they chant, I don't know, Rafa, Roger, whoever, he hears Novak, Novak.