Did the 2021 Wimbledon crowd disrespect Novak Djokovic?

Novak Djokovic is one of the three greatest tennis players in history and one of the greatest sportsmen ever, with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. But although he is close to becoming the GOAT of tennis, he has always had some problems with the crowds, which have always preferred his two great rivals.

With 30 finals played and 20 triumphs in the Grand Slam trials, Nole is the most successful player in the history of the Slams, tied with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, having won nine Australian Open (absolute record), six Wimbledon, three US Open and two Roland Garros.

Together with Rod Laver he is the only player of the Open era to have simultaneously held the title of all four Grand Slam events and the only one to do so on three different surfaces. With the triumph at Roland Garros 2021 he became the first ever tennis player, in the Open era, to have won all majors at least twice and the third overall after Roy Emerson and Rod Laver.

Nole came to Wimbledon as defender of the title and reached the final losing only one set (the first against Draper) by beating in sequence Draper, Anderson, Kudla, Garin, Fucsovic and Shapovalov. In the final act he granted only one set to Matteo Berrettini, the first Italian to reach the final at the championships, winning 6-7,6-4, 6-4, 6-3. He thus won the sixth trophy at Wimbledon and the twentieth slam, as well as the third slam of the season.

Did the 2021 Wimbledon crowd disrespect Novak Djokovic?

But right in the final of the Championships, the crowd cheered his rival Berrettini, leaving Nole baffled. Did the 2021 Wimbledon crowd disrespect Novak Djokovic? The Center Court crowd shouted "Matteo, Matteo, Matteo," but the Serbian tennis champion was calm and composed before leveling the match in the second set.

"There are a lot of people in here supporting Djokovic, you just can't hear them. Yeah he doesn't like it. He feels disrespected," said Boris Becker about the issue. Andrew Castle added: "This is going to offend Novak Djokovic personally. That's a very strong hold and that's full of character, who do you think you're dealing with here? The best player of all time. I come here and win five times and you still don't love me? How dare you! That's exactly the conversation he's having. This is nice. It's good to interact. Especially when you've just saved break points. "

If Novak Djokovic was resentful of the Wimbledon crowd's treatment of him, after he praised his rival for most of the match, the Serb didn't show it. He has remained cold to it all, and has done what is best for him: to win. The love of crowds can go to other tennis players, but in many years, what will be remembered by history will be the victories and the records.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3lhJVqQ