Novak Djokovic had promised ‘fireworks’ in his fourth round against Holger Rune and, after the match itself failed to produce so much as a sparkler, he grabbed the microphone and aimed a roman candle straight at the Centre Court crowd.
The seven-time champion turned his on-court interview into a rant about what he felt were boos directed at him during his straight-sets win on Monday evening.
It seemed the crowd were simply cheering ‘Ruuuuuuune’ for his opponent but Djokovic, as he often does, saw things differently.
‘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,’ he began. ‘And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player – in this case me – have a goooooooood night.’
His rather non-plussed BBC interviewer Rishi Persad said: ‘I am hoping they were just commenting on Rune, and they were not disrespecting you.’
Djokovic – who has a track record of taking on crowds – was having none of that. ‘They were. They were [disrespecting me],’ he insisted. ‘I am not accepting it. No no no. I know they were cheering for Rune but that’s an excuse to also boo.
