Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic known to play on the front foot on and off the field, took fans in his firing line after his Wimbledon 2024 Round 4 win against Denmark's Holger Rune. Djokovic won the clash in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 but still the fans were supportive of his opponent Rune, as they are in the majority of his matches given his persona on and off the field. Known to be blunt and straight forward, Djokovic slammed the fans for being disrespectful.
Djokovic didn't give many chances for the fans to cheer for Rune but when the Danish player did trouble the Serb, the crowd was up on its feet. However, Djokovic wasn't going to have it.
"To all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a goooooood night! Goooooood night! Goooooood night!," Djokovic remarked in the post-match interaction. The commentator cut him and asked if he mistook the fans cheering for his opponent Rune with the chant 'Ruuuuuunnneee' for booing and the Serb responded saying that having played for so many years, he can differentiate which is which.
"I don't accept that, no, no, no. I know there 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 fine," Djokovic said.
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"I focus on respectful people that have respect that paid the ticket to come and watch tonight and love tennis and appreciate the players and the effort they put in. I have played in much more hostile environments. Trust me, you guys, you guys can't touch me," Djokovic said. It was a rainy evening in London and even though the fans saw a dominant Djokovic on the field but their lasting memory won't be a pleasant one with him pissing them off.
Nick Kyrgios, the Australian tennis player, had a bit of a fun as he made a Gooooood Night post on Twitter (now X), referring to Djokovic's dig on the fans. Djokovic next faces Alex de Minaur in his 15th quarter-final at the Wimbledon.
