‘An excuse to boo’

Novak Djokovic accused some of the Centre Court crowd of using a Holger Rune chant as “an excuse to boo” as his hot-and-cold relationship with Wimbledon took another turn.

Hundreds of fans greeted Rune winners, and Djokovic errors, with elongated cries of ‘Ruuuuuuu-ne’ during the pair’s fourth-round match on Monday.

Djokovic – a convincing 6-3 6-4 6-2 winner – felt the crowd were disrespecting him.

“To all those people that have chose to disrespect a player, in this case me, have a gooooood night,” Djokovic said in a courtside interview.

“I don’t accept it. I know 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 and how it works.

“It’s fine. I’ll focus on the respectful people that pay the ticket to come and watch the night, and love tennis and appreciate the effort that the players put in here.

“I’ve played in much more hostile environments, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”

Djokovic is attempting to win a joint record eighth Wimbledon men’s title, and is a nine-time finalist at SW19.

But his relationship with the crowd has not always been serene. 

After Djokovic beat Roger Federer in the 2019 final, his former coach Boris Becker said he deserved more respect from a partisan crowd who had mostly sided with his opponent.

And two years ago, Djokovic was booed after he blew a kiss to fans following his semi-final win over Briton Cameron Norrie.