Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is on his way to the quarter finals at Wimbledon after winning his most recent match, but the victor left being irked by some fans who he says, booed him mid-game.
The 24-time grand slam champion took just over two hours to beat his Danish opponent Holger Rune – 6-3 6-4 6-2 – on Centre Court. During the match, spectators could be heard shouting “Ruuuune” in support of the world’s No. 15 player.
However, Djokovic, 37, interpreted some of these chants as booing from some people in the crowd, voicing his distaste with this after the game.
“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,” Djokovic said in his post–match interview. “And to all those people who have chosen to disrespect a player – in this case, me – have a goooood night,” he continued, drawing out the oooo’s to mimic the chant that had angered him.
When the on-court interviewer suggested fans had just been chanting for Rune, rather than booing, Djokovic didn’t buy the explanation.
“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,” he said. “I’ve played in a much more hostile environment, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”
Following his defeat in Monday’s match, Rune said it had been nice to hear the crowd chant his name and said his opponent was mistaken again, as a similar situation happened at the 2021 US Open when Djokovic was confused by what he thought was booing from the crowd.
“If you don’t know what’s happening, it probably sounded like ‘boo,’ but it was my name,” Rune said.
Despite Djokovic undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus last month, he seems to have made a comeback with this victory and could be on his way to a seventh Wimbledon title. He will now play Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Wednesday for a spot in the semi-finals.
