LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 08: Novak Djokovic of Serbia addresses the crowd on Centre Court following … [+]
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Another day, another controversial situation surrounding Novak Djokovic.
In the wake of his straight-sets win over No. 15 Holger Rune in the fourth round of Wimbledon, the 24-time Grand Slam champion and No. 2 seed went after fans he perceived as being “disrespectful.”
The Serb apparently thought fans chanting “Ruuuune” were actually booing Djokovic.
“To all the fans that have respect and have stayed here tonight, thank you from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it,” Djokovic said on court.
“To all those people who chose to disrespect the player, in this case me. Have a gooooooood night. Gooooood night, goooooood night.”
He added: “They were, they were, I don’t accept it. I know they were cheering Rune, but it’s an excuse to boo. Listen, I’ve been on the tour 20 years, I know all the tricks, it’s fine, it’s OK. I focus on the respectful people, who pay for their ticket, come tonight and love tennis and appreciate the players and the effort the players that they put in.
“I played in a much more hostile environment, trust me, you guys can’t touch me. I’m feeling great on the court, take it day by day. I hit the practice courts tomorrow and analyze this match.”
Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, disputed Djokovic’s theory and said fans were merely rooting for the Dane.
“It wasn’t [booing], but crowds around the world need to understand, Novak doesn’t need more motivation,” the Australian said, per The Independent. “He’s driven, one of the best players in the world.
“I’ve seen it time and again, the crowd poke the bear, that’s not what you want to do against Novak. Some said that was his first test? He answered all the questions. It’s a blockbuster against Alex De Minaur.”
Djokovic will face No. 9 De Minaur in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
