Novak Djokovic played another impressive game at Wimbledon to earn his spot in the quarter-finals. The 24-time grand slam champion defeated Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, and the match took two hours to finish.
However, despite the adrenaline of being crowned the winner, Djokovic was irked by some fans who were rooting for his opponent. During the match, spectators would cheer “Ruuuune,” a chant similar to booing.
Following this incident, Djokovic said: “To all the fans that have respect and have stayed here tonight, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate it… And to all those people who have chosen to disrespect a player – in this case, me – have a goooood night.”
For the athlete, it wasn’t a cheer towards Rune. He added: “I don’t accept it. No. I know they were cheering for Rune, but that’s an excuse to also boo…. 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 OK. I focus on the respectful people, who have respect, that paid the ticket to come and watch tonight, and love tennis and appreciate the players and the effort that the players put in here…I’ve played in a much more hostile environment, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”
Not the first time
Apparently, the audience had previously enraged Djokovic following a match against Rune. The same situation happened at the 2021 US Open, when Djokovic was left confused by what he thought was a booing chant from the crowd.
As for Rune, he said that it had been enjoyable to hear the supporters sing his name and that his opponent had once again been mistaken. The athlete admitted: “If you don’t know what’s happening, it probably sounded like ‘boo,’ but it was my name… But [Djokovic] has played so many matches since it happened last time, he probably didn’t remember.”
Djokovic will now compete against Alex de Minaur of Australia for a place in the semi-finals. He said: “Alex [de Minaur] is one of the quickest, if not the quickest, player on Tour. But I’m enjoying my running still at 37. Looking forward to the match.”
Source: CNN