“You guys can’t touch me”: The return of Djokovic’s fire at Wimbledon
Djokovic didn’t hold back in his post-match interview, letting Danish fans know just what he thought of their boos on Monday night
© Chryslène Caillaud / Panoramic
The first six months of 2024 saw a surprisingly lacklustre Novak Djokovic on court. The 24-time Grand Slam champion slipped to several uncharacteristically meek losses, even confessing himself that he found it hard to get out of bed for a regular Tour-level match.
In the latter stages of Roland-Garros, before he was forced to withdraw injured, Djokovic began to show some of his trademark fire that had been notably absent.
Now, with the seven-time Wimbledon champion through to the quarter-finals in London, it’s clear that the Serbian’s fire is back.
Djokovic took exception to some of the Centre Court fans’ behaviour in his victory over Holger Rune on Monday night, believing that they were being disrespectful and booing him. As he often does, he channelled this into motivation, racing past the former No 4 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in what was being billed as the first real test for Djokovic this tournament.
Djokovic’s crowd interaction after Rune victory
He let the Wimbledon crowd know just how he felt after moving through to the last eight at SW19 for the 15th time, and his 60th Grand Slam quarter-final overall:
“To all the fans that have respect and stayed here tonight, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it.
“And to all those people who have chosen to disrespect the players – in this case, me: ‘Have a gooooooooood night. Goooooood night, goooooood night.’” said Djokovic, clearly imitating the booing tone they were taking throughout the match.
When his on-court interviewer attempted to placate him and tone down the situation, Djokovic doubled down and made his opinion crystal-clear:
“They were [disrespecting me]. They were. I don’t accept [that they were just cheering for Rune]. No, no, no. 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 fine, it’s okay.
“I’m focused on the respectful people, that have respect, that paid the ticket to come and watch the night, and love tennis, and appreciate the players and the effort put in here.
“I’ve played in much more hostile environments, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”
Whether fans were actually booing Djokovic, or he was simply manufacturing offence to fuel his fire, the 24-time Grand Slam champion was right about one thing: right now, no-one can touch him.
