Novak Djokovic is one of the highly polarizing athletes going around in the tennis circuit for a very long time and his new celebration of imitating to play violin on the court has sparked another controversy.
The Serb hammered a spirited Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 in the second semifinal of gentlemen's singles at Wimbledon and imitated playing the violin using his racquet amid deafening boos from a section of the crowd that had gathered to witness the fixture.
What is the secret behind Novak Djokovic's new celebration?
Djokovic has been celebrating his wins at Wimbledon this year by playing the violin in a tribute to his six-year-old daughter, Tara.
Notably, Tara is learning to play the violin and has been rooting for his father with her calming presence in the stands during latter's matches in the tournament.
"That was for Tara," Djokovic mentioned at the beginning of the tournament. "My daughter has been playing violin for some time already, six months, and we agreed that I would celebrate that way."
Djokovic's celebration was misunderstood by the Wimbledon crowd that had gathered to witness his fourth-round clash with Holger Rune.
The crowd felt that the former world No. 1 was goading them and they started booing him, perhaps unaware of the context.
The second seed aimed at those who targeted him by hurling cries of "Rune" "Rune" after he defeated him in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
"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 Monday night.
"To all those people who chose to disrespect the player, in this case me. Have a gooooooood night. Gooooood night, goooooood night.
"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 analyse this match," he added.
Djokovic has entered his 10th Wimbledon final and will be up against the third seed Carlos Alcaraz in a rematch of the previous edition's final.
