Novak Djokovic took Wimbledon fans’ support of his opponent as boos, and ripped into them in an on-court interview over it.
In Monday’s Round of 16 Wimbledon match against Holger Rune, Djokovic, who swept the match 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals, was convinced the spectators at Centre Court were booing him.
The Serbian tennis star immediately addressed it on the court during his post-match interview following the win.
“To all the fans that have respect and that stayed here tonight: Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate it. And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player — in this case, me — have a goooood night. Gooooood night. Gooooood night. Very gooooood night,” Djokovic said sarcastically, stretching out “good” to sound like “boo.”
While the interviewer assured Djokovic that no one was mocking him, the seven-time Wimbledon champion insisted that wasn’t the case.
“Listen, I’ve been on the tour for more than 20 years. So trust me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works. It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s OK. I focus on the respectful people, that have respect, that paid (for) a ticket to watch tonight — and love tennis. And appreciate the players and the effort that the players put in here,” he said.
Djokovic, who recently had his right knee surgically repaired after withdrawing during the French Open, told reporters on Sunday that his mobility throughout the tournament has been impacted.
“I do feel that has an impact on my movement a little bit in terms of the speed,” he said. “It’s not yet there where I want it to be. Kind of late on the balls that I’m normally not late on.”
However, the 37-year-old’s knee didn’t seem to be bothering him when he outperformed the 15th-seeded Danish player.
Though Rune had lots of support at Centre Court on Monday, Djokovic’s dominant performance received widespread praise on social media.
over Holger Rune. Getty Images
Djokovic will battle Australia’s No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinal on Wednesday, and though he’s clearly focused on the crowd reactions, he insists they won’t rattle him.
“I’ve played in much more hostile environments. You guys can’t touch me,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said.
