Novak Djokovic slammed the Wimbledon crowd in an angry on-court speech after his his last 16 win over Holger Rune, insisting that he was ‘disrespected’ as he was booed off Centre Court.
It kicked off when Djokovic, who endured a frosty reception during last year’s final, glanced up to spectators and puts his lips together to copy their ‘Rune’ chant and shush them at the end of the second set, before he went on to win and reach the quarter-finals.
The Serbian appeared frustrated earlier in the clash when he mistook fans’ Rune support for booing, which did appear to sound similar, and he decided to address it by intimidatingly staring them down.
Speaking about it after the match, he said: To all the fans who have respect and stayed here tonight thank you from the bottom of my heart I appreciate it.
‘To all the people that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, gooooooooood night.’
Told that fans were simply supporting Rune, Djokovic added: ‘No, I don’t accept that. I have been on the tour for 20 years. I have played in much more hostile environments, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.’