Former world No.1 Novak Djokovic has described the behaviour of the crowd at Wimbledon as the ‘most extreme’ he had ever experienced at the tournament following his third round win.
The 12th seed was engaged in a tense battle against British No.1 Kyle Edmund on Centre Court. Djokovic managed to prevail 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, after coming through a stern encounter where he was a recipient of heckling from the crowd. At one point of the match the Serbian was slammed with a code violation for taking too long between points. Prompting a loud cheer to erupt around the court as the crowd roared on Edmund. The match was played shortly after England’s historic 2-0 win over Sweden at The World Cup.
“It was a Davis Cup-like atmosphere. I expected them to support Kyle, obviously. But at times they were slightly unfair to me. That’s how it goes.” Said Djokovic.
“Today there were just some people, especially behind that end where I got the time violation, they kept on going, they kept on going, provoking. That’s something that I can tolerate for a little bit, but I’m going to show that I’m present, as well, that they can’t do whatever they feel like doing.”
Instead of being intimidated by the atmosphere, it only added fuel to the fire for Djokovic. Making gestures of defiance, he hit back harder with the power of his tennis. Reaching the second week of the tournament for the 11th time in his career.
“Playing high-intensity matches where one serve or one shot can really swing the momentum one or the other side, obviously there is a lot of accumulation of emotions, especially in the decisive moments of the set and matches. Sometimes you express yourself in a positive or negative way.” He said.
“I don’t like when I throw a racquet or scream or whatever, but I have to accept that I’m a human being like anybody else, that I can feel the pressure as everybody else. “My interaction with the crowd, I thought had good things and not that great things. I just reacted the way I thought it was fair, the way they reacted to me.”
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The double bounce
Controversy erupted during the fourth set when Djokovic complained that Edmund returned a ball after it bounced twice. The umpire said that it didn’t, but video replays proved that it actually did. Djokovic would had broken for 4-3 if he had won that point.
“I was 100% convinced it was twice. I heard from people that it was.” He recounted.
“Anybody can make a mistake. That’s okay. But I don’t understand why he (the umpire) didn’t allow me to challenge the ball. I asked him.”
Reflecting upon the controversial call, Edmund refused to get drawn in on the argument too much. Indicating that the incident is evidence that VAR (video assistant referee) would work in tennis. A system used in football where referee refers to TV replays concerning certain decisions. It has gained popularity in recent weeks due to its introduction into the World Cup this year.
“If in real life, it’s hard to tell, then it’s hard to tell for me when I’m scrambling. Generally, if you need television to look at stuff, when you’re in the moment, trying to make that split decision… I don’t really know what to say. I try my best to get there. We need the umpire to get off his chair and go to the TV monitor on the side.” Edmund told reporters after his loss.
The fallout has lead to some people on social media for Calling Edmund a cheater for not admitting to the double bounce. Although, he insists that he didn’t know it did at that time. Speaking about those comments, Djokovic has defended the world No.17.
“I don’t think he deserves that. Kyle is a very nice guy. I know him and have tons of respect for him, his team. We get along very well.” He said about the 23-year-old.
“He was running towards the ball and he just hit it and he dropped his racquet. He couldn’t know. Doesn’t deserve that.”
Djokovic will play Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the fourth round.
