Novak Djokovic hit out at the Wimbledon crowd in his post-match interview as he set up a quarterfinal battle against Australian star Alex de Minaur.
Djokovic cruised to a straight sets victory over No. 15 seed Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, but it was his interview on court that caught the most attention.
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The Serbian wished a “good night” for the “people that were respectful”, but teed off at those he felt were against him.
“And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect a player, in this case me, have a goooood night,” Djokovic said.
“Goooood night. Goooood night.”
The on-court interview suggested the crowd wasn’t “disrespecting” and booing Djokovic and were instead supporting Rune, with his surname sounding similar to when a crowd might boo a player.
However, Djokovic was not having it.
“They were, they were, they were,” Djokovic said.
“I don’t accept it. I know they were cheering for Rune, but that’s an excuse to boo.
“Listen, I’ve been on the tour for more than 20 years so trust me, I know all the tricks.
“It’s fine, it’s OK. I focus on the respectful people that pay the ticket to come and watch tonight and love tennis and appreciate the players.
“I played in much more hostile environments, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”
Taylor Fritz mounted a stirring comeback to dump fourth seed Alexander Zverev out of the tournament, winning their last-16 match 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Confronted with Zverev’s relentless serve, American 13th seed Fritz looked to be heading home but engineered a crucial break in the third set.
It was the first time the German former world number two had been broken in the entire tournament.
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Fritz, who won the Eastbourne International on grass last month, edged the fourth set on a tie-break and broke again in the fifth set as he raised his level.
“It was amazing to do that on Centre Court, two sets down in front of this crowd. It’s a dream,” he said.
“The thing was I still felt I was playing really well for being down two sets. I was just thinking it sucked to be playing this well and to lose in straights.
“So let’s take the third, I took it one at a time. I had that belief. It was just a couple of points here and there.” The American, who hit a total of 69 winners against 23 unforced errors, will face Italian 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals.
Defeat for Zverev means the big-serving German, runner-up at Roland Garros last month, has still never reached the last eight at Wimbledon.
Elina Svitolina wept on court after reaching the last eight at Wimbledon for a third time with a 6-2, 6-1 win against China’s Wang Xinyu in just 55 minutes.
The 21st seed, wearing a black ribbon on her white shirt, was in action after Russia struck cities across Ukraine in missile attacks, which heavily damaged a Kyiv children’s hospital.
“It’s a very difficult day today for all Ukraine people,” said the 29-year-old Svitolina.
As she attempted to compose herself, she received a lengthy round of applause from spectators on Court Two.
“It was not easy to focus on the match. Since this morning it has been very difficult to read the news and go on court.”
Svitolina will next play Russian-born Kazakh Rybakina, who defeated an injury-hit Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 3-0.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, said she did not feel pressure even though she is the highest-ranking player left in the women’s draw.
Svitolina, in line with all Ukraine players, refuses to shake hands with Russian opponents but insisted she would offer her hand to Rybakina when they clash.
“She changed her nationality, so it means she doesn’t want to represent her original country,” said Svitolina.
Australian ninth seed Alex de Minaur, who won the ‘s-Hertogenbosch grass-court tournament last month, prevailed in four sets against France’s Arthur Fils to set up a quarter-final against Djokovic
Musetti ruined big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s 21st birthday by coming from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko beat Iga Swiatek’s conqueror Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3.
Source Agencies
