Certain rules of journalistic etiquette are being flaunted at the Australian Open because of the ongoing merry march of the Serbian new wave that has brought smiles as well as style to top flight tennis.

First two Serbian scribes so felt patriotic at the sight of Novak Djokovic outplaying Australia’s last hope Lleyton Hewitt that they decided to unfurl their national flag and wave it at every changeover. Professionally-speaking they should have spent the time noting instances of their player’s dominance – there was certainly plenty to write about – and in years gone by certain upholders of the correspondents’ code would have reminded them of their responsibilities.

Then when Jelena Jankovic walked into her press conference after eliminating defending champion Serena Williams, she was greeted with a round of applause from her compatriot journalist. Ovations are not unknown in the interview room – Andre Agassi was honoured with a two minute one of the standing variety after he played his last ever match at the 2006 US Open - but they are not really the done thing and usually only reserved for the player who has just won the final…and then only in exceptional circumstances.

However it is difficult not to be completely entranced by this gaggle of youngsters that also includes the world’s third ranked woman Ana Ivanovic, as pleasant and well mannered an individual as there has ever been in the tennis world, and the deep-thinking Janko Tipsarevic who pressed Roger Federer harder in the first week of a Grand Slam than anyone has done for several years.

All are acutely mindful of the horrendously bad reputation affixed to their country a few years ago after the atrocities of the Balkan War. Both Djokovic and Ivanovic have publicly stated that they have personally suffered the backlash in their formative years on the tennis circuit and consequently have made it one of their missions to ensure that their own personal image is one of friendly openness and seen as a credit to their nation.

Comparisons between the relative tennis wealth of Serbia and Britain have been made many times. They have no facilities but four of the most exciting new talents on the world scene. We, in the shape of the Lawn Tennis Association, have a pristine new £40 million National Training Centre at Roehampton and apparent money to burn. Yet our playing strength is negligible and the latest example of British junior ambition – Marcus Willis being sent home in disgrace – shows that the future may be just as bleak.

These young Serbs would never be guilty of such indolence; most have had to make sacrifices for their sport, leaving home at an early age and going to live in foreign lands so they could benefit from the requisite coaching. Of course there were even discussions about the possibility of Djokovic ‘becoming British’ that moved beyond just the preliminary stage a couple of years ago.

The matter is now very much a matter of history but much can still be learned from the young Serbs. They all appear to play without the weight of expectation burdening them down, although of course they have no real tennis tradition to uphold. But the engaging thing is they all do it with such enjoyment.

Jankovic entranced the British tennis public at Wimbledon last year. Her mixed doubles partnership with Jamie Murray was not just ultimately successful but also played in a flirtatious manner that the inquisitive amongst us found frankly intoxicating. Most importantly they appeared to be having fun out on court and isn’t that the reason why people are supposed to play tennis in the first place?

Djokovic does his imitations of other players and we all laugh. Ivanovic fixes us with that doe-like expression and beams with the widest of grins to ensure many of us just simply melt. So in many ways it is possible to forgive those who are breaking the journalistic code. There is nothing quite like sportsmen or women who play with smiles on their faces and look as though they are enjoying what they are doing.