Was seven-time champion Novak Djokovic disrespected by the Centre Court crowd at Wimbledon? Tennis legend James Blake says the Serb uses chants to fuel the fire as he bids to become a 25-time Grand Slam winner.
Djokovic took aim at Centre Court spectators he claimed disrespected him during a straight-sets win over Holger Rune in the Wimbledon fourth round on Monday night.
A last-16 tie with Rune had been expected to be Djokovic’s biggest test since having surgery on a torn meniscus last month, but the 24-time Grand Slam winner eased into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory.
Rather than Rune being able to knock Djokovic off stride, it was fans inside Centre Court that frustrated the 37-year-old after he took exception to the surname of his opponent repeatedly being chanted.
Djokovic claims he was booed by the Centre Court crowd
During a heated on-court interview, Djokovic said: “Well, to all the fans that had respect and stayed here tonight, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it.
“And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a gooooood night. Gooood night, gooood night. Very good night.”
It was put to Djokovic that they were merely chanting Rune and not booing him, but the second seed countered back.
“They were [disrespecting], they were, they were. I don’t accept it,” Djokovic insisted.
“I know they were cheering for Rune, but that’s an excuse to also boo.
“Listen, I have been on the tour for more than 20 years. Trust me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works, it is fine. It is fine, it’s OK.
“I focus on the respectful people, they have respect, that pay a ticket to come and watch tonight and love tennis.
“Love tennis and appreciate the players, appreciate the efforts that the players put in here. I have played in much more hostile environments, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”
Tennis legends spoke in Djokovic’s defence at the All England Club on Tuesday, saying the former world No 1 doesn’t need anymore motivation.
Former world No 4 James Blake
James Blake says Djokovic uses any negativity as motivation
“I think it’s an interesting mindset because I don’t know how much Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame speech resonated over here, but he talked about all the fights in his life and his career,” said the American, who has served as tournament director for the Miami Open since 2018.
“When people thought he couldn’t do something or he thought they were speaking negatively about him, you scratch your head and think ‘it wasn’t that bad’ but he used it to motivate him and for Novak it’s probably tough to get motivated.
“The guy is the greatest of all time and everyone is coming for him. If you need something to motivate you and you can use a crowd cheering for your opponent, whatever it takes to motivate you. He’s so good at finding motivation and inspiration everyday and that’s what it took for him.”
Former Australian Open finalist Thomas Enqvist
Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist believes Djokovic is now ready to win another Wimbledon title
“When Novak puts his mind into it – for me, it means he is ready,” said the former world No 4 from Sweden. “He has the game face on and that’s what we all like to see. Novak is into it and he’s won this title seven time before so, for me when I saw that I thought, ‘yes, he’s ready for another title’.”
Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski
Greg Rusedski says ‘it’s nothing disrespectful’ to Djokovic
“We had Luke Donald ironically in the Royal Box and everyone thinks it’s being rude, but it’s just the Danish chant so there’s nothing disrespectful to Novak there,” said the former US Open finalist. “He’s a great champion and the Danes have their chant for Rune and we’re going to hear that a lot more as he career progresses.
“He passed the biggest test with flying colours. Some people were like, ‘what test was there?’ We saw him do the full splits with the knee which shows us that he’s fully fit. Holger hits the ball harder than most people on the tour and it didn’t bother him whatsoever. He’s defying logic and now he’s joint favourite with Jannik Sinner.”
Kyrgios: Fans were not booing Djokovic | ‘He doesn’t need more motivation’
Nick Kyrgios says Djokovic ‘doesn’t need more motivation’
Nick Kyrgios told BBC Sport…
“It wasn’t [booing] but I think crowds all around the world need to understand that Novak doesn’t need more of a motive to play better.
“He’s driven, one of the best players in the world and I’ve seen it time and time again, the crowd try to poke the bear and that’s not what you want to do against Novak.
“He loves it. I try not to poke the bear when I play him…and I really struggle with that. Obviously it cost me my Wimbledon final.
“He doesn’t need more of a motive to go out there and prove to someone he is the greatest of all time.”
Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Marcos Baghdatis
Marco Baghdatis feels it could be all in Djokovic’s head
“I was travelling so I didn’t see it and it’s tough to comment on that,” said the 2006 Australian Open runner-up. “But I don’t know if it’s mentally or people [upsetting him].”
Former top-10 player Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik says it’s good when someone gets ‘upset or annoyed’
“It’s kind of good, too, when you see emotion from players, when someone gets upset or annoyed. It’s theatre,” said Alicia Molik, a former Australian Open quarter-finalist.
“Often, it’s silent, but (players) have to take a bit of the noise and the vocal fans at the same time. Maybe if it was the US Open, no one would notice as much, because we’re so used to it being so loud.
“But at Wimbledon, there’s a bit more of a hush, isn’t there? So probably every word muttered is a little magnified here.”
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