Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, has gone viral for his rare on-court rebuke as he blasted the fans for booing him during the match against 15th-seeded Holger Rune. While some say that the fans were lauding Rune for his spirited battle against world no. 2 but the Serbian star felt that he was being bullied. 

And he made sure that everyone knew about how unhappy he was. After defeating Rune 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the 120-minute match, Djokovic reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals. During the post-match interview, the tennis star made sure that the message was loud and clear for the ‘Ruuuuuune!’ chanting fans.

“To all the fans that have respect and that stayed here tonight: Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate it. And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player — in this case, me — have a goooood night. Gooooood night. Gooooood night. Very gooooood night,” Djokovic curtly said. 

When the interviewer tried to pacify Djokovic and said that he was not being targeted, the Grand Slam champion shot back – ” They were,” he repeated this phrase thrice. Then he went on to say that he has been touring for past two decades and exactly knows “all the tricks.” 

Later, during the press conference, Djokovic said that it was up to the All England Club to come up with a plan to tackle the rowdy fans. After winning the match, Djokovic took his racket and gestured in a way that he was playing the violin, seemingly mocking and ‘feeling sad’ about winning the match. “I played in much more hostile environments, trust me,” Djokovic said. “You guys can’t touch me.” 

This was the 15th time that Djokovic had made it to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. So far, he has won the Wimbledon championship seven times. Last year, he was the runner-up after Carlos Alcaraz emerged as the winner in a hard-fought match.  

(With agency inputs)