Novak Djokovic opens up to unfriendly noises from spectators

“A majority of the people come to enjoy tennis or support one or the other player. But they are individuals. There are people — there are groups or whatever — that love to boo every single thing you do. That’s something that I find disrespectful and I frankly don’t understand that,” Novak Djokovic said.

On Friday, Novak Djokovic’s 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over 29th-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at at Roland Garros was not taken well by some spectators and the legendary player drew some unfriendly noises from the crowd.

“But it’s their right. They paid for the ticket. They can do whatever they want,” Novak Djokovic said.

Following a perilous situation where Novak Djokovic found himself just two points away from losing the second set, with a score of 5-4 against him in the tiebreaker, he managed to seize control. He successfully won the subsequent three points, all of which were aided by errors committed by Davidovich Fokina.

Upon securing the set, Novak Djokovic exhibited his elation by taking a few strides toward the sideline, engaging in a display of exuberance.

Some spectators were clearly not happy with the celebrations and the noises in the stands were communicating that. The unfriendly noises grew louder as Novak Djokovic decided to take a medical timeout.

But, Novak Djokovic doesn’t seem to care much about the noises and he kept doing what he was supposed to do. He waved a hand as if to say, “Give me more!” He sarcastically waved his hand, gave a thumbs-up, and laughed over the unfriendly noises.

“At times, you know, I will stay quiet. Not at times — actually, 99% of the time, I will stay quiet,” said Novak Djokovic, who won the French Open in 2016 and 2021. “Sometimes I will oppose that because I feel when somebody is disrespectful, he or she deserves to have an answer to that. That’s what it is all about,” he added.

(With agency inputs)

Updated: 03 Jun 2023, 08:19 PM IST