Rowdy Serbian fans received a serve then later an apology from Novak Djokovic.

The world No.2 breathed a sigh of relief after outlasting South Africa’s Kevin Anderson at the ATP Cup in Brisbane.

A pumped up Djokovic gladly soaked up the fanatical Serbian supporters’ applause after finally overcoming world No.91 Anderson 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6) to seal victory for his country in their opening tie, ending an epic clash lasting almost two and a half hours.

But in the first set the Serbian fans’ passion wasn’t so appreciated by the 16-time grand slam champion.

Frustrated after former world No.5 Anderson fought back from 4-1 down to force a tiebreaker, Djokovic cut an annoyed figure as Serbian fans called out during points.

He finally exploded after taking a 3-2 lead in the tiebreaker, jumping up and down while screaming and gesticulating wildly at fans to be quiet.

If his rabid fan base were offended it didn’t show as they cheered him on to victory, albeit not during points.

Djokovic was a relieved man after a harder than expected season opening clash against an opponent who had not played for six months due to knee surgery.

But he quickly became sheepish when he fronted the media and was reminded of his first set outburst.

He said the Serbian crowd was a little too excited and his outburst was in the heat of the moment and he was sorry if he offended anyone.