Djokovic brushed past Holger Rune of Denmark to reach his 15th Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the latest chapter of the pair's rivalry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
During the match, hundreds of fans greeted Rune winners, and Djokovic errors with frequently shouting \u2018Runeeeeeee\u2019 between points.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After the match, when on-court interviewer Rishi Persad asked Djokovic, \"the crowd in particular seemed very into this match and obviously Holger have lots of support. You seem to enjoy your interaction with them as well?<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In reply, the 24-time Grand Slam champion had a powerful message for certain fans in Centre Court, whom he accused of jeering at him throughout the intense two-hour clash.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"To all the fans who have respect and have stayed here tonight, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it,\" he said. \"And to all those people who have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case, me, have a goooood night. Goooood night. Goooood night. Very good night.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Djokovic then added, \"They were (disrespecting me), I don\u2019t accept it. I know they were cheering for Rune but that is an excuse to also boo. Listen, I\u2019ve been on the tour for more than 20 years, trust me I know the tricks, I know how it works. It\u2019s fine, it\u2019s fine, it\u2019s ok.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"I focus on the respectful people, that have respect, that pay the ticket to come and watch the night and love tennis and appreciate the effort the players put in here. I\u2019ve played in a much more hostile environment, you guys can\u2019t touch me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Later, in a post-match press conference, Rune said that Djokovic was mistaken to think the crowd was booing him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"It all started in the US Open the first time we played each other in 2021,\" he explained. \u201cThey were shouting my name \u2018Ruuune\u2019 and it sounded a bit like \u2018boo\u2019. If you don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening, it probably sounded like 'boo'. But it was my name. But he\u2019s played so many matches since it happened last time, he probably didn\u2019t remember,\" said Rune.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Later, in a post-match press conference, Rune said that Djokovic was mistaken to think the crowd was booing him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n