"I think he receives unjustified hate," Zverev defends Djokovic

World No. 3 Alexander Zverev will begin his Wimbledon tournament against Arthur Rinderknech and hopes for a perfect run to finally claim his first Grand Slam title.

On his path, the German—who lost in the Australian Open final earlier this year—could face Novak Djokovic, one of his biggest rivals on tour but also one of the players he gets along with best, potentially in the final.

In an interview with Tennis365, Zverev didn’t hesitate to call out the unjustified hate Djokovic receives from tennis fans, particularly referencing the Serb’s withdrawal during the Australian Open semifinals earlier this season.

"In Australia, people in the stands had paid for tickets and wanted to see a battle between us for four or five hours. But in the end, he’s won that tournament ten times. He’s won it injured, he’s won in Melbourne multiple times with different issues.

If he said he couldn’t play a Grand Slam semifinal, it means it was truly the case. So I think he receives unjustified hate. Roger (Federer) and Rafa (Nadal) are two of the most beloved athletes of all time. They’re probably both in the top 10 most loved athletes ever.

And Novak (Djokovic) has ruined the party a lot in the minds of fans. But you know, all I can say is that Novak is genuinely a good guy. Yesterday, I practiced with him and asked him questions about my serve, my return, and what he focuses on.

You’d think that since he’s world No. 6 and I’m No. 3, we might face each other at Wimbledon at some point, so he wouldn’t want to answer my questions.

But he’s so generous—he took the time to respond and give me suggestions. I’m not sure anyone else in the world would do that for a direct competitor.

He’s so generous with his answers. He takes his time and thinks everything through before giving you an honest response. I’m not sure anyone else on tour would do that," he said in recent hours.