NOVAK DJOKOVIC was booed during his Centre Court clash with Holger Rune last night, claims BBC presenter Sara Thornton.
The Serbian, 37, comfortably beat Rune 6-3 6-4 6-2 to advance to the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
During the match, many within the Centre Court crowd tried to get behind the Dane, chanting “Ruuuune” after several points.
Djokovic didn’t take kindly to his treatment from the crowd, claiming in his on-court interview that they had been booing him, even after reporter Rishi Persad tried to explain.
While Persad’s explanation was echoed by many that had been within Centre Court for the match, the BBC‘s Thornton felt that Djokovic was right.
She posted on social media: “As I sat on Centre Court I thought there were some absolute jerks in the crowd booing Novak Djokovic using the disguise of the name Rune… and sadly it became infectious.
“But as a tennis fan, I’d say that was far outweighed by those delighting in the skilful play on both sides.”
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic said in his combative on-court interview: “To all the fans that have respect and stayed tonight, thank you from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it.
“To all those people that have chosen to disrespect play and one player, in this case me, have a GOOOD-night. A GOOOD-night. A very goodnight.
“They were disrespecting me. I don’t accept it, no, no, no.
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“I know they were cheering for Rune but that is also an excuse to boo.
“Listen, I have been on the tour for more than 20 years. So trust me, I know all the tricks, I know how it works.
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“It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s okay. I focus on the respectful people, those who have respect, who have the tickets to come to watch me tonight.
“Who love tennis, who appreciate the players and the effort put in.
“I’ve played in much more hostile environments, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”
During his post-match press conference, Djokovic was asked if Wimbledon need to take action against rowdy crowd members.
He said: “I don’t know what Wimbledon can really do about it. In those particular moments when it happens, the crowd paid their tickets. They have the right to be there and cheer the way they want to cheer.
“That’s absolutely something they choose how they behave or how they choose to support the player is really up to them.
“Yes, you could argue maybe a chair umpire or whoever can step in in certain moments and calm them down, but there’s not much you can do.
“You’re not going to take out the whole section of the crowd or stadium because they’re misbehaving or showing disrespect.
“It’s just the way it is. It’s part of the sport. It’s actually one of the biggest reasons why we are here, why the tournament is so important historically and why we were globally recognised as tennis players, is because of the fans.
“Because of the interest that they put into watching tennis matches, paying tickets, queuing to come. I respect that. I try to acknowledge that.
“I said that on the court. All the true tennis fans that respect players, of course, you’re going to support one player or the other. It’s obviously solely up too them. It’s fully understandable that they have the freedom to choose who they back in the match.
“But if somebody steps over the line, I react. That’s basically what it was. After the match I said what I said.”
Djokovic will next be in action tomorrow, when he takes on Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals.
Aussie De Minaur, who dates British No1 Katie Boulter, was asked after his match whether he can be claimed as an “honorary Brit” – with the home nation having no singles players left in action.
He said: “Oh, 100 per cent. I’ll take all the support I can get.
“I can be the honorary Brit here at Wimbledon. I’ll take all the support I can get.”
