The Djokovics don't hold back on their opinions, and that is refreshing. One might not like everything Novak Djokovic and Jelena Djokovic have to say, but at least one does not have to guess what they are thinking.
That is especially clear after Jelena watched Naomi Osaka's actions against Sorana Cirstea in the second round of the Australian Open. Osaka won the match in three sets, but the Romanian was obviously upset with the Japanese player's constant yelps of "Come on!"
Players do that quite a bit, of course, but Cirstea appeared to believe that Osaka was making noises to intentionally disrupt her serve. Crowd noise is supposed to cease between a player's first and second serve, and an opponent wouldn't be allowed to make noise either. Was Osaka doing that against Cirstea?
Jelena Djokovic delivers her opinion on Naomi Osaka
Jelena Djokovic believes so. She said as much on Instagram after the match, one that featured an extremely cool post-match handshake between the two players. Cirstea barely made eye contact, but in a post-match on-court interview, Osaka was anything but nice when discussing her screams during the match.
Osaka said, "Apparently, a lot of ‘come-ons’ that she was angry about, but whatever. I mean, I tried to play well. I think I hit a lot of unforced errors, but I tried my best. She’s a great player — I think this was her last Australian Open, so, okay, sorry she was mad about it."
The crowd's reaction implied the audience did not care for what the Japanese player was saying. They seemed put off by Osaka's words and body language. She was truly saying sorry. Instead, she was diminishing how Cirstea seemed to fail, and that was not a classy thing to do.
Jelena Djokovic obviously agreed with the crowd.
On Instagram, she wrote, "I’m surprised that this is not being called hindrance. In between two serves, when crowds are applauding or shouting, the chair umpire asks not to shout between serves as it is disturbing to the player. The point is not finished. Sorana missed her first serve and is focusing on getting in the second, it is a slight pause. And is disrespectful to applaud at someone’s first serve mistake too."
Tennis great Martina Navratilova backed what Djokovic wrote as well. While Navratilova said she understood what Osaka said after the match because the player still had the adrenaline of winning and was being asked questions immediately after the victory. Sometimes, that is not the best time to ask a player how they felt about what had just happened.
On the Tennis Channel, Navratilova said, "(Osaka) was surprised by Cirstea’s reaction at the handshake, but you cannot be talking out loud between the first and second serve of your opponent. I mean, Cirstea was ready to hit the second serve, and then Osaka says, ‘Come on.' That’s not right. I don’t think she does it on purpose. She doesn’t realise it. You can say ‘Come on’ all you want, but keep it inside. Do not verbalise it."
Naomi Osaka's next match should be an interesting watch simply to see how the Australian Open crowd welcomes her. She will face qualifier Maddison Inglis in the third round. After that, she could face Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.