Australian Open 2020 news - How are tennis fans supposed to behave?

The Greek was imperious on his return to the tournament where he made his breakthrough 12 months ago. The first set, a bagel, was wrapped up quickly, the second, 6-2, soon followed. The third, eventually won 6-3, took slightly longer as Caruso needed treatment. To those watching on television, the problem was obvious: he had a cut finger which needed to be plastered up. The fans in the stadium either did not know or care what was affecting him as a chorus of boos rang out.

Tsitsipas was the first person to call out the behaviour. "I really like they come and support me because that gives me a lot of positives in my game (but) I don't really know why they want to go the extra mile some of the time," Tsitsipas told reporters. "I think also, from their side, they should be a little bit more respectful to the opponents."

His comments echo those of Rafael Nadal, who was put out by some of the more vociferous Serbia supporters when he met Novak Djokovic in the final of the ATP Cup just a week ago. "People from some countries they probably don't understand how the tennis goes. They think it's about football. [The] atmosphere in tennis is different.

“The respect of the players should be there and at some point the respect from [a] small part of the crowd was not there.”

It raises the genuine question: how are tennis fans supposed to behave?

The experience of every Grand Slam is different. Wimbledon is awash with cliches about stereotypically English people happy to queue for hours to eat strawberries and cream, discreetly pop champagne corks and, eventually, when enough Pimm's has been consumed, letting their emotions get the better of them by shouting "Come on Tim!"

But that is simply just a stereotype that regularly doesn't tally with reality as anyone who has ever wandered over to an out-court to watch an Australian can testify. Djokovic is well known to be annoyed not to receive the same adulation as Nadal or Roger Federer and even Andy Murray found the Centre Court crowd against him when he played the Swiss in the 2012 final.

Meanwhile, the French Open is often punctuated by a lone supporter shouting "ALLEZ!" in a funny voice as a player begins to serve. But French players, most notably Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, have long complained that the Parisian fans do not get behind their home hopes enough.

At the US Open, the crowd is famously loud, chattering while points are being played and turning on players who are not to their liking, including John Isner, who for years was the only US hope of any Grand Slam success. "I was a little bit disappointed in that, actually," he admitted after finding the fans against him for a win over Gael Monfils in 2013. "Not going to sugar coat it...if I was playing him in France, it certainly wouldn’t be like that."

So it is hardly alien for fans at Grand Slam tennis to show their support for their favourite players and get on the backs of their opponents. Perhaps players who want to feel loved need to look to Daniil Medvedev for inspiration. The young Russian revelled in his role as a pantomime villain at the US Open last year, using the boos he received after a small tantrum as his inspiration to reach his first Grand Slam final. "I want all of you to know when you sleep tonight, I won because of you," he told the crowd after one win as jeers were heard all over the court.

It is perhaps true that those attending live tennis have become a little more like football fans by openly supporting their favourite players in recent years. This is both a good thing, and completely natural.

Sports evolve and so do their fans. The experience of attending football today, with new stadia, padded seats and a higher proportion of women and ethnic minorities than ever before is completely alien to the fan experience 40 years ago, which would have involved standing on a crowded terrace, choking on a cloud of cigarette smoke and potentially a punch-up.

If tennis fans want to show their support for their favourites, then let them. Tennis is in an era now where it almost separates itself from the fans, Grand Slams aside. The WTA Finals are now in Shenzhen and both tours dedicate plenty of time to visiting China, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar purely for revenue-raising reasons. That fans can still identify with players who are more distant than ever is something of which the sport should be genuinely proud.

So long as the support does not go down racial lines, or indeed mirror the near riot that took place between Serbian fans and Croatian fans (below) at the Australian Open in 2007, it should be encouraged.