Novak Djokovic was not happy with the crowd at Wimbledon on Monday for doing something that it did not do. He addressed the perceived disrespect during a sassy post-match interview after beating Holger Rune in straight sets.
It was so dramatic for no reason.
Djokovic is arguably the greatest tennis player of all-time. However, fans of the sport love to root against him. Part of that semi-villainous persona stems from his personal beliefs and how he carries himself, part of that stems from the natural draw of rooting for the lower seed to pull an upset.
The draw on Monday was mostly the latter. Rune was a big underdog to Djokovic.
Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club got behind the 21-year-old Danish phenom early. The crowd wanted to see an upset. It was rowdy.
Whenever Dune scored, the crowd shouted “Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune!”
Djokovic thought he was being booed. There might’ve been a few boos mixed in, sure, but it was predominantly “Rune” and pretty clearly discernible as such. Someone in Djokovic’s camp even told him that it was “Rune,” not “boo.”
That didn’t stop him from calling out what he thought was boos during his post-match interview!
I know they are cheering from Rune, but that’s just an excuse for also boo me.
— Novak Djokovic
He also told them “goooooooooooodnight” in a mocking manner. It was so sassy.
Seems Djokovic also thought the so-called 'Rune' chants were booing…
— Clegg Bamber (@CleggBamber) July 8, 2024
Confused as to what was behind it if it was booing – and if they are chanting Rune then why extend it sooo much?
Anyway, good effort from Rune. Not his best, but difficult to beat Djokovic anyhow… https://t.co/GwRitGNpSc pic.twitter.com/OYGUks87Q3
Novak Djokovic is probably right that there were some people who booed him instead of cheering for Holger Rune. However, the overwhelming majority of the crowd was doing the opposite and the amount of “booooos” to “Ruuuuunes” was far greater when they met on center court at the U.S. Open in 2021.
Djokovic didn’t say anything then. Why did he feel compelled to say something now?
Whatever the reason, it was so extra and so unnecessary.
Djokovic will face Alex De Minaur in the quarterfinals of the gentlemen’s singles draw. Fortunately, the Aussie’s last name can’t be confused as boos!