Rune asked about Djokovic complaining about the crowd following their Wimbledon match.
Holger Rune didn’t want to give too much significance to Novak Djokovic unloading on the Wimbledon crowd after their match, downplaying the incident by suggesting that the Serb probably misunderstood fans’ chants for boos.
On Monday evening, seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic delivered his best performance at the tournament so far after ousting world No. 15 Holger Rune 6-3 6-4 6-2 to book a quarterfinal spot at The Championships.
But even though it was a perfect day at the office game-wise for Djokovic, there was still one thing that made him pretty mad – he thought the crowd was disrespectful toward him throughout the match. That led to the record 24-time Grand Slam champion brutally shading those who he felt were disrespecting him.
“To all the fans that have had respect and stayed here tonight, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I appreciate it. And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player — in this case me — have a goooooooood night,” an annoyed Djokovic told the crowd.
I would earlier root for the understated disposition of Tendulkar and Federer who would only let their game do the talking.
But increasingly, with so much vitriol, I’m beginning to appreciate the aggression of players like Virat and Djokovic!
After the match, Rune instantly tried to shut down claims of the crowd targeting Djokovic in a volatile way. instead, the 21-year-old Rune explained why he was pretty certain that the crowd was pronouncing his name rather than booing Djokovic.
“It all started at US Open the first time we played each other, when the crowd chanted my name and it sounded a little bit like ‘boo…’ then we played each other many more times, more like in Italy and France where they don’t pronounce my name the same way,” Rune said after the match.
“Yeah, now we’re in England. If you don’t know what was happening, probably it sounded like ‘boo.’ But… if we all know what happened… It was my name. He’s played so many matches since he played me last time. If he didn’t remember, it could probably sound different for him.”
Then, Rune proceeded to highlight that Djokovic was simply a far better player in their match and that the crowd probably didn’t play much role in the outcome of the match.
“But I don’t think it played a massive part in the match. He was just better than me today. Whether the crowd was this or that.. I think it was great support for both players to be honest. They were supporting him on good points. They were supporting me. Nice scenes on Centre Court.”
Holger Rune on Novak Djokovic saying people in the crowd were disrespectful to him, ‘We all know what happened… it was my name… But I don’t think it played a massive part in the match… it was great support for both players’
Throughout the match, the “Ruuuuune” chants could have been heard from the stands. And that’s why Rune argued that Djokovic probably got it wrong and thought that they were booing him.
But when asked about that theory in his post-match press conference, the 37-year-old Serb said he was smart enough to realize the dirty tactic behind the long Rune chant.
“They were (booing). They were. I am not accepting it. No, no, no. 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. I know all the tricks, I know how it works. I focus on the respectful people that pay for the ticket, and love tennis and appreciate the players. I have played in much more hostile environments, trust me — you guys can’t touch me,” Djokovic said.
Meanwhile, this was the most one-sided matchup that Djokovic and Rune have had. Before their Wimbledon meeting, Djokovic and Rune played against other five times and not a single of those five matches ended in straight sets. But on Monday at The All England Club, that streak ended after the former world No. 1 routinely got the job done without dropping a single set.
Rune will now focus on the upcoming Paris Olympics, while Djokovic plays against Alex de Minaur for a place in the Wimbledon semifinal.
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