“He will use it in his favour”: Nenad Zimonjic on Djokovic’s battle with the Wimbledon crowd

Djokovic accused some of the crowd of disrespect after he said some fans they booed him under the mask of chants for Holger Rune

Novak Djokovic (Antoine Couvercelle/Panoramic)

Simon Cambers

July 9, 2024

Nenad Zimonjic knows Novak Djokovic better than most and while no one would presume to know what’s going on inside Djokovic’s mind, his former coach and Davis Cup team-mate believes he will will use his Monday night confrontation with the Wimbledon crowd to his favour.

Djokovic accused some of the crowd on Centre Court of disrespect on Monday when, after beating Holger Rune in straight sets, he claimed that some were booing him, masked by the chants of Ruuuune. “They were,” he said. “I know they were cheering for Rune but that’s an excuse to also boo. Listen, I’ve been on the Tour for more than 20 years, so trust me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works. It’s fine, it’s OK. I focus on the respectful people, who have respect, that paid the ticket to come and watch tonight, and love tennis and appreciate the effort that the players put in here. I’ve played in a much more hostile environment, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”

“I don’t think it affects him at all”

Zimonjic was part of Djokovic’s coaching team earlier this year in Monte-Carlo, where the Serbian beat Alex de Minaur, his opponent in the quarter-finals here on Wednesday. And the doubles star said he thought Djokovic would use the events of Monday night to his advantage.

“I don’t know (what was going through Djokovic’s mind),” he said at Wimbledon on Tuesday. “That’s something you should ask him. We can only guess. I know what’s going on in my head but I don’t know what’s going on in his.

“I was there just for first the five, six games of the first set, then I had dinner here at the Last 8 Club (the club for everyone who has ever made a Wimbledon quarter-final) so I wasn’t able to hear, I just heard the comments afterwards. What I can say is just the crowd usually here is very knowledgeable, very respectful and if it was somebody, it was maybe a couple of people, if that really happened.

“But Novak is a guy that obviously loves when they’re cheering for him, because I played many times with him when we were playing in the Davis Cup ties, so that energy gets him going. But also we played away when everybody was against us and they were cheering for all the mistakes, even whistling, booing during the service motion. He doesn’t mind that. Why is he reacting here? I don’t know. I don’t think it affects him at all. I know he’s very experienced and he can use it in his favour regardless what they do.”

“Everything is going in the right direction”

Zimonjic said he feels Djokovic has been improving with every round, having made it to the main draw against expectation, after having knee surgery during the second week of the French Open.

“I would say if he didn’t feel physically OK he wouldn’t be here,” Zimonjic said. “He is not somebody that is willing to risk anything just for one tournament even though Wimbledon is so special for him as well, like for all other players. So far, we could see that he’s progressing and playing better and better, which is the sign that everything is going in a good direction.

“Grass is a difficult surface. We’ve seen some big injuries here, so it’s not easy to compete, especially now the upcoming matches, you know, against Alex, who is a great player, playing his best tennis, it’s going to be another difficult test. But I think he’s ready.”

De Minaur will draw on his win over Djokovic at the United Cup in January but Djokovic saw off the Australian when they played on clay in Monte-Carlo. Grass, Zimonjic says, offers De Minaur hope but the match-up is in seven-time champion Djokovic’s favour.

“I think grass suits his game because he plays pretty flat and the ball stays low, which is good for him. And he is an unbelievable mover. So physically, very fit, one of the quickest guys on tour. It’s not going to be easy. He’s got great support from his team and also Lleyton Hewittis is here, who can help him a lot. It’s going to be a very tough test for Novak.”

And everything, Zimonjic believes, will depend on how close Djokovic is to 100 percent, in terms of his movement, which has been good if not quite up to the spectacular level we are used to seeing, even at the age of 37.

“I would say if Novak is 100 percent fit, I don’t think he would fear De Minaur at all. Now the question is how his body is, how the knee is going to react if they have longer rallies. That’s the only question. Yes, De Minaur doesn’t have big weapons, like some other players but he’s very consistent, very quick. He improved his game, first serve is better, he is coming more to the net. So that’s the addition to his game. And that shows in the results that he’s been having this year.”