Former Roger Federer coach finds Novak Djokovic's claim illogical

Novak Djokovic can interpret what he heard in his match against Holger Rune in the fourth round of Wimbledon however he wants. The Serb heard booing but many others assumed they were listening to "Ruuuuune." This is a common cheer by fans of the Dane.

In an on-court post-match interview, Djokovic said he felt disrespected, and then when questioned about his claim, he said he had been on the tour long enough to understand the "tricks." Some might have been saying "Rune" but others were actually booing. He also admitted that there was nothing that Wimbledon could do about the issue as people paid for a ticket to get into the event.

Of course, athletes use whatever inspiration they can to augment their play whether that external motivation is real or made up. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if Djokovic truly heard people booing or not. The bottom line is that his play was pushed to a higher standard and he played nearly perfectly in a straight-set win over Rune.

Former Roger Federer coach disagrees with Novak Djokovic's booing claim

One person who did have an issue with the Serb's take on the issues during the Rune match was former ATP No. 3 and former Roger Federer coach Ivan Ljubicic. He told Sky Sports Italia that Djokovic believing people were booing was illogical. Still, the former Federer coach still went on to rightfully praise the Serb for his recovery from recent knee surgery as well as his form at Wimbledon.

Ljubicic said, "I’ve heard Rune fans celebrate like this before. If they did it to annoy (Djokovic), it’s something they’ve already done. So I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of people try to distract Nole in many different ways...I don’t see any logic in celebrating with a boo when a player scores a point. But he interpreted it like this...But we have to talk about his match, that’s what I think needs to be told. Perfect tennis."

After the win over Rune, Djokovic was set to play Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, the Australian injured his hip at the very end of his own fourth-round match and was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon prior to facing the Serb. With the walkover into the semifinals, Djokovic is set to play Italian Lorenzo Musetti. This will be Djokovic's 13th semi at the grass-court major. He has won the event seven times.

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