Wimbledon 2024: 'Authentic' Novak Djokovic Earns Support For Standing up Against Disrespectful Centre Court Crowd

Add as a preferred source on Google

Novak Djokovic earned a lot of support for standing up against the disrespectful centre court crowd after Wimbledon 2024 fourth round victory over Holger Rune on Monday (July 8) night.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion sealed a quarter-final spot at the All England Club for the 15th time in his career, defeating the 15th-ranked Dane Rune in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Following his victory, Djokovic took an aim at the Wimbledon crowd by slamming "disrespect" from Centre Court spectators towards him and telling them he's been through more hostile crowds.

"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," a furious Djokovic said before calling out the disrepectful bunch.

"And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player -- in this case me - have a goooooooood night," he added. The Master of Ceremonies on Centre Court suggested the support was purely for Rune and not to disrespect, Djokovic did not agree.

"They were. 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," the 37-year-old responded.

"Listen, I have been on the tour for more than 20 years. I know all the tricks. 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."

Often portrayed as the bad boy by some section of tennis fans, the seven-time Wimbledon champion earned a lot of backing on social media for calling out the disrespectful crowd.

"Novak Djokovic has been so respectful to #Wimbledon and the fans there. Not sure why the crowd often actively roots against him. Not going to lie, I sort of love when Novak channels Kobe. So many parallels between those two as competitors. I love this," posted one user on X.

"Paranoid or not, fragile or not, immature or not, this version of Djokovic is so, so much more authentic and enjoyable than the heart-throwing nonsense of a decade ago. Glad he's speaking his truth these last few years," another user posted.

"You gotta love Djokovic. Tells things the way they are. Tennis is and should be respectful at its core. Not national, not patriotic, just the individul player and his or her skills and efforts. Someone who loves the game would never be disrespectful towards any of the players," a user on X posted.