Djokovic appeared to confuse fans' chants of 'Rune!,' the last name of his opponent, as boos
Novak Djokovic continued his run at Wimbledon on Monday when he defeated No. 15 Holger Rune in the Round of 16 on Center Court.
However, Djokovic made things quite awkward after the match when he called out the fans in the stands, saying they were "disrespectful" throughout the match.
Rune, a 21-year-old Danish tennis star, was receiving love from fans throughout the match, with many seemingly chanting "Rune!" when he scored.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates winning match point with a violin gesture against Holger Rune of Denmark in his Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match during day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 8, 2024 in London. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
However, there was not much scoring from him, as Djokovic made quick work of him, finishing the match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
The awkwardness came when Djokovic believed fans were booing him while saying his opponent’s last name.
unreal from djokovic pic.twitter.com/epilhdWOKh
— Oscar Pearson (@oscarjpearson) July 8, 2024
"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," Djokovic said.
Then, Djokovic mocked the crowd when saying, "Have a good night," drawing out the "O’s" in the word good to sound like a boo.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic pretends to play the violin for his daughter as he celebrates winning against Australia's Alexei Popyrin during their men's singles tennis match on the sixth day of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon in London on July 6, 2024. (ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images)
The Wimbledon interviewer tried to tell Djokovic that was not the case, but the No. 2-ranked player in the tournament had a quick retort.
"They were, they were, they were," he said, doubling down that fans were booing him. "I don’t accept it. No, no, no, I know they were chanting for Rune. But that’s an excuse to also boo. 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. I focus on the respectful people, that have respect, that paid [for] a ticket to watch tonight and love tennis.
"I’ve played in much more hostile environments. Trust me, you guys can’t touch me."
Djokovic might not be in the best standing with Wimbledon fans the rest of the way, especially after he was reacting to the chants from the stands throughout the match as well before making his statement.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia addresses the crowd on Centre Court following victory against Holger Rune of Denmark in his Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match during day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 8, 2024 in London. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
His quarterfinal match comes on Wednesday against No. 9-ranked Alex de Minaur from Australia, where we’ll see how fans react to seeing him on the grass court once more.
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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
