Jack Draper stormed back to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in front of a hostile Australian crowd.

Jack Draper responded to the passionate Australian fans during his on-court interview (Image: Eurosport)

Jack Draper had the perfect response to the Australian Open crowd after being booed during his five-set marathon against Thanasi Kokkinakis.

It was a hostile environment for the British No. 1 from the moment he set foot on John Cain Arena, with the jeers starting when he walked out.

But Draper took it in his stride and later told the fans he was happy to give it back.

It was never going to be easy for Draper on Wednesday night. The 15th seed was scheduled to face Kokkinakis on John Cain Arena – the third showcourt in Melbourne Park which has become a favourite with Aussie players as it allows a mix of ticketed seatholders and grounds pass users.

But the 23-year-old was happy to rise to the occasion and had fun with it, riling up the fans by putting his finger to his ear when he got through tough games.

Draper looked down-and-out when he trailed 3-5 in the fourth set, with Kokkinakis already two sets to one up. But he stormed back, winning four games in a row to force a decider after the Australian served for the match.

The Brit eventually came out on top, winning 6-7(3) 6-3 3-6 7-5 6-3. Afterwards, he addressed the hostile crowd environment.

“This is what I play for, since I was a young guy I wanted to play in front of big crowds, whether you guys were with me or against me,” he started.

Although it was difficult, Draper cheekily admitted he played with the fans in return. He continued: “It was a tough atmosphere to deal with. You guys were obviously all with Thanasi but I had a little fun back as well!

“It was so good to be out here, really happy with the amount of support we get here at these big tournaments. It’s unbelievable.”

Draper will now have to prepare for a similar environment when he takes to the court for his third-round match as he faces another Australian in Aleksandar Vukic, who upset 22nd seed Sebastian Korda.

Jack Draper paid tribute to Thanasi Kokkinakis after outlasting the Aussie in five sets (Image: Getty)

The British No. 1 has now played back-to-back five-set matches at the Australian Open and will be hoping for a more straightforward run against Vukic.

“Obviously the first match was four hours, I don’t want to be out here for that long! But I’m getting better each set and I’m really proud of how I’m going,” Draper added.

The world No. 15 also paid tribute to Kokkinakis, who was clearly physically struggling throughout the contest and called the physio multiple times.

“Credit to him, I think he was hurting a lot. Obviously, he pulled out last week, had a really long match his first match. Came out here, gave it his all. In the end, he was hurting but it was a great fight today,” Draper said, finally winning over the Aussie fans.