Perhaps someone could have told Novak Djokovic they were actually saying “Boo-Urns.”
After admonishing the Wimbledon crowd for booing him during his Round of 16 win over Holger Rune on Monday, Djokovic abruptly ended an interview with the BBC due to questions about the situation.
The 37-year-old snapped after a question about the “disrespect” helping him play better, after saying he had no regrets about his post-match Silky Johnson impression.
“Do you have any questions other than the crowd? I mean are you focused only on that or are there any questions about the match or is it solely focused on that?” Djokovic asked.
The reporter then responded by referencing what had just happened before Djokovic cut him off.
“This is the third question already, I mean, I said what I have to say,” Djokovic said. “I mean, maybe we can speak about it…”
The reporter pivoted to a question about Djokovic’s upcoming quarterfinals opponent, Australian Alex De Minaur, which elicited a few words before Djokovic pulled a Larry David and decided they were good.
It created an awkward scene on top of what had already been a cringeworthy moment earlier in the night when Djokovic apparently decided to audition for a future career in WWE.
Fans supported Rune, a Denmark native, in his losing effort Monday in their Round of 16 matchup, and Djokovic apparently felt as if he were Rocky Balboa fighting Ivan Drago in Russia in “Rocky IV.”
He then lashed out at the English crowd.
“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,” Djokovic said. “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, the world’s second-ranked player, even doubled down on his woe-is-me assertion.
“Listen, I’ve been on the tour for more than 20 years. So trust me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works. It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s OK,” Djokovic said. “I focus on the respectful people, that have respect, that paid (for) a ticket to watch tonight — and love tennis. And appreciate the players and the effort that the players put in here.”
We’ll see if the crowd has a “Rocky IV”-esque change of heart Wednesday when he faces de Minaur.
Djokovic is now the highest-remaining seed in the field after top-seed Janik Sinner lost his Tuesday quarterfinal matchup to Daniil Medvedev.
