Novak Djokovic strongly defended in Wimbledon crowd row and labelled the GOAT by WTA legend
Former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport has backed Novak Djokovic after his clash with the Wimbledon crowd and labelled the Serbian the greatest tennis player ever.
The three-time Grand Slam champion believes Djokovic has “had enough” of fans cheering against him as it is “not easy to always be the villain out there.”
Following his fourth round victory against Holger Rune at Wimbledon, Djokovic hit out at sections of the Centre Court crowd he felt had disrespected him.
“To all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a goooooooood night. Goooooood night, goooooood night. Very good night. Yeah,” declared the tennis legend.
“They were [disrespecting me], they were, they were. I don’t accept it. No no no. I know they were cheering for Rune, but that’s an excuse to also boo.
“Listen, I have 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 okay.
“I focus on the respectful people that have respect, that pay [for] the ticket to come and watch tonight, and love tennis and appreciate the players and the effort that the players put in here. I played in much more hostile environments, trust me… you guys can’t touch me.”
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Djokovic is seeking a record-tying eighth Wimbledon crown, having reached a record-extending 49th Grand Slam semi-final after Alex de Minaur withdrew ahead of the pair’s quarter-final through injury.
Speaking on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Davenport defended Djokovic after his clash with the crowd and argued the 37-year-old is treated unfairly given everything he has achieved.
“I think he’s just had enough, I think it’s not easy to always be the villain out there,” said the American.
“Obviously in the age of Rafa [Nadal] and Roger [Federer], it just always seemed like the crowd was always against him. And not even against him, but like 90 to 95% for the other player.
“And I think he’s just tired of it. I think it’s not easy also when your kids are in the stands. I think also when you’re doing everything you can to still stay around in the sport, you do everything to help try and grow it.
“You’ve just had surgery, he’s out there, like really? He’s had it. Honestly, I don’t blame him and I think, you know, good for him. It’s just so odd because he does so much good as well off the court.
“And now it’s almost like, it seems like it’s cool to cheer against him or whatever, and it’s terrible. He’s done amazing things.
“He’s gonna go down statistically — whether people like it or not — as the greatest player who’s ever lived, male or female. It’s insane when you look at all of his numbers. I mean at 37 also, let’s give it up for him.”
Djokovic will face Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals and would meet either Carlos Alcaraz or Daniil Medvedev if he reached a 10th Wimbledon final.
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