Novak Djokovic Complains That Wimbledon Crowd Booed Him

Novak Djokovic called out Wimbledon attendees for their behavior after his victory over Holger Rune on Monday, July 8, at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

Djokovic, 37, swiftly defeated the No. 15 ranked Rune, 21, to advance to the tournament’s quarterfinals, but the Serbian tennis star expressed frustration toward the crowd’s chanting during his post-match interview.

“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,” he began.

“And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case, me, have a gooood night. Gooooood night. Gooooood night. Very gooood night,” Djokovic added, extending the emphasis on the “O’s” to imitate the sound of the crowd’s booing.

The on-court interviewer suggested to the tennis player that the crowd was saying “Rune” instead of “Boo,” but he quickly dismissed the idea.

“They were, they were, I don’t accept it,” Djokovic said, clarifying, ” I know they were cheering for Rune but that’s an excuse to also boo.”

The current No. 2 ranked player then addressed the audience. “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,” he continued.

“It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s okay. I focus on the respectful people, that have respect, that paid a ticket to watch tonight. and love tennis. And love tennis. And appreciate the players and the effort that the players put in here,” Djokovic added.

He continued by noting, “I’ve played in a much more hostile environment, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”

During his media availability after the win, Djokovic was asked if he thinks there’s a way to control disrespectful behavior from fans.

“Look, I don’t know what Wimbledon can really do about it,” Djokovic said, according to the Associated Press.

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“I mean, in those particular moments when it happens, the crowd paid their tickets,” he added. “They have the right to be there and cheer the way they want to cheer. That’s absolutely something they choose. How they behave or how they choose to support the player is really up to them.”

He added that an argument could be made for having “maybe a chair umpire or whoever can step in in certain moments and calm them down,” but lamented, “there’s not much you can do,” per the AP. “You’re not going to take out the whole section of the crowd or stadium because they’re misbehaving or showing disrespect.”

Djokovic will return to the court on Wednesday, July 10 to play Alex de Minaur in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.