Others interpreted the Wimbledon fan noise differently, but Novak Djokovic heard the elongated chants of Holger Rune's last name during their match Monday as boos of the seven-time champion. So he had a word with the crowd afterward. "Well, to all the fans that have respect and have stayed here tonight, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart," Djokovic said in the on-court interview, per the Athletic. He then mimicked the chants. "And to all those people who have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a goooooood night. Goooooood night, gooooood night. Very good night. Yep."
Djokovic defeated Rune 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. When the match ended, Djokovic put his racket to his chin and acted as if he were playing a violin, in apparent mock sympathy for those whose player had just lost, per the AP. One possibility is that the fans were cheering on Rune because they wanted to see more than three sets played, per the Guardian. Or maybe they were Danish fans rooting for their countryman. When the interviewer said the crowd was cheering Rune, per the Express, not booing him, Djokovic was adamant. "They were, they were, they were. I don't accept it," he said. "No, no, no."
- The topic of disrespect came up after a Wimbledon match Thursday, per the AP, when Taylor Fritz sent Arthur Rinderknech packing and told him to "have a nice flight home."
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