‘I Didn’t Feel They Were Against Me’ – Novak Djokovic’s Straight-Faced Reply on Crowd Making Him the Villain

Yesterday, the tennis world saw one of the biggest upsets at the Monte Carlo Open. The World no.1, Novak Djokovic, lost in the second round to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Although the Serb lost, he received a good reception from the crowd compared to his previous matches. At the press conference, Novak talked about the crowd and what did he feel about the reception. 

Novak Djokovic thanked the crowd at the Monte Carlo Masters

After the match, the 20-time Grand Slam winner talked about his performance against Davidovich Fokina. As per Djokovic, he physically collapsed during the third set. However, he did give credit to his opponent for playing some extraordinary tennis. Interestingly, he also talked about the crowd’s reaction at the press conference. 

“I didn’t feel they were against me. Actually, the crowd was very nice, and it was a good reception. Well, look, I mean, they cheered for both players. Some good points he was, you know, double break up, you know he was playing well, and look, I didn’t mind honestly. I, you know, I’ve had much more hostile environment in my life, in my career. So, this was great, I mean, I thank them for staying three hours,” Novak stated. 

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Notably, Novak received a really good response from the crowd when he played his first match in 2022 at the Dubai Open. Even last year at the US Open final, he received more support than his opponent, Daniil Medvedev. 

Djokovic is still eying the French Open

Despite yesterday’s loss at the Monte Carlo Masters, Djokovic is vying for success at the French Open. Currently, he is on the path to playing the Serbian Open. Other than that, he has no other tournaments scheduled before the French Open. 

Incidentally, Monte Carlo was just his second tournament in 2022. It was visible in his play that he lacked proper match fitness. His last appearance was at the Dubai Open in February. The next tournament will be on his home soil. Surely, it will be a golden opportunity for the 20-time Grand Slam champion to get back to his previous form. 

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Can Djokovic win the French Open? Let us know in the comments.