Rune: "It wasn't boos towards Djokovic, it was my name"

By Guillaume Nonque

le 08/07/2024 à 23h24

Djokovic Rune Wimbledon

A little controversy after the match between Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. As we explained earlier (see the article 'Djokovic very angry with certain spectators on Centre Court at Wimbledon!'), the Serb didn't appreciate Holger Rune's fans' encouragement in the form of "Ruuuuuuneeee", which sounded a lot like "bouh".

Especially when these "Ruuuunnneee" were the result of mistakes made by Djokovic. He made this clear in his post-match interview (see video below).

Novak Djokovic: "It was disrespectful, I don't accept the explanation of the cheers for Rune. No, I don't. I know they were supporting Rune, but that's an excuse to go 'boo' too. I've been on the ATP Tour for over 20 years, so believe me, I know the tricks. I know how it works."

Questioned on the subject in the press conference, Rune replied that he hadn't perceived things in the same way and that he hadn't seen any disrespect in it. The Dane also took the opportunity to explain the origin of "Ruuunneee".

Holger Rune: "It all started at the US Open, the first time we played against each other... when the crowd chanted my name and it sounded a bit like 'boo'.

After that, we played against each other many times, like in Italy and France, where they don't pronounce my name the same way.

Now we're in England. If you don't know what's going on, it probably sounds like "boo". But... if we all know what happened... it was my name. He's played so many matches since the last time he played me. If he didn't remember, it might have sounded different to him.

But I don't think it played an important role in the match. He was simply better than me today.

As for whether the spectators were this or that... To be honest, I think both players were very well supported. They supported him on his good points. They supported me too. Great scenes on Centre Court".