World number one Novak Djokovic has criticised the behaviour of the crowd at Wimbledon after his victory over Holger Ronnie at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Monday, July 8.

Djokovic, 37, quickly overcame world number 15 Ron, 21, to advance to the quarter-finals, but the Serbian tennis star expressed his frustration at the crowd’s chants during his post-match interview. interview.

“To all the fans who respect us and who stayed here tonight: thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate it,” he began.

“And to all those people who chose to disrespect the player, in this case me, I wish you a good night. A good night. A good night. A very good night,” Djokovic added, emphasizing the “or” to mimic the sound of the crowd booing.

The on-court interviewer pointed out that the crowd was saying “Ron” instead of “Boo,” but the tennis player quickly dismissed the idea.

“They were, they were, I don’t accept that,” Djokovic said. “I know they were cheering Ron but that’s an excuse to boo him too.”

The world number two then addressed the crowd, saying: “Listen, I’ve been on the tour for over 20 years, so believe me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m focusing on the people who are respectful, who respect me, who paid a ticket to watch the match tonight. And they love tennis. And they love tennis. And they appreciate the players and the effort they put in here,” Djokovic added.

“I’ve played in a more hostile environment, believe me. You can’t touch me,” he continued.

During his media appearance after the win, Djokovic was asked if he thought there was a way to control disrespectful behaviour from fans.

“Look, I don’t know what Wimbledon can really do about this,” Djokovic said, according to CNN. News agency.

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“I mean in those special moments when that happens, the fans are paying for their tickets. They have the right to be there and cheer the way they want. That’s entirely their choice. How they act or choose to support the player is really up to them,” he added.

He added that an argument could be made that “there should be a referee or someone who can step in at certain moments and calm them down,” but he lamented, “There’s not much you can do,” according to the Associated Press. “You’re not going to be able to remove an entire section of the crowd or the stadium because they’re misbehaving or showing disrespect.”

Djokovic is scheduled to return to the court on Wednesday, July 10, to face Alex de Minaur in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.