Novak Djokovic slams ‘coughing, whistling’ Centre Court crowd

Shahida Jacobs
July 8, 2018

Novak Djokovic was unimpressed by the Wimbledon Centre Court spectators during his win over Kyle Edmund.

The three-time champion overcame a poor start to beat the British number one 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to secure his place in the fourth round.

Although the Serb expected to be the underdog in terms of crowd support, he felt the supporters crossed the line.

“There is a certain unwritten borderline where you feel that it’s a bit too much,” he said.

“I didn’t deserve to be treated the way I was treated by certain individuals.”

He added: “It was a Davis Cup-like atmosphere. I expected them to support Kyle, obviously. But at times they were slightly unfair to me. That’s how it goes.

“I thought the crowd’s reaction after (the time violation) was quite unnecessary. A couple guys really, you know, pretending they were coughing and whistling while I was bouncing the ball more or less to the end of the match.

“Those are the things obviously that people don’t get to see or hear on the TV. I just think it’s not necessary.”

Djokovic, of course, is used to getting hostile receptions when he plays a Brit as he was also on the receiving end when he faced Andy Murray in the 2013 Wimbledon final.

However, he feels Saturday’s match was on another level.

“It was not like this, definitely. No, the crowd was very fair when I played against Andy. Obviously they support their player. There’s nothing you can say about that.

“But today there was just some people, especially behind that end where I got the time violation, they kept on going, they kept provoking…

“I’m going to show that I’m present, as well, that they can’t do whatever they feel like doing.”

Novak Djokovic