Novak Djokovic managed to beat the local favourite Kyle Edmund 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, but he claimed that fans at the centre court “whistled and coughed” while he served. The three time Wimbledon champions insisted that he deserves better treatment.
Djokovic expressed his anger over the reaction of a section of the crowd after he had been given a time violation for bouncing the ball too often.
“I thought the crowd’s reaction was quite unnecessary. A couple of guys pretending they were coughing and whistling while I was bouncing the ball more or less to the end of the match at that end where I received the time violation,” said Djokovic.
“Those are the things obviously that people don’t get to see or hear on the TV. I just think it’s not necessary. That’s what I didn’t like.”
Djokovic responded in a sharp way by blowing kisses to the crowd and dimpled his ear as he unbind the match winning strokes.
“If you were in my position, you would probably understand. I’m a human being like anybody else, I can feel the pressure as everybody else.
“My interaction with the crowd, I thought had good things and not that great things. I just reacted the way I thought it was fair, the way they reacted to me,” said the former world number 1.
In a controversial circumstance, Djokovic showed anger when he was denied a break of serve in the seventh game of the fourth set when the ball bounced twice before Edmund hit what was ruled a winner.
“It was quite a strange situation, to be honest,” said Djokovic of the incident which happened right in front of umpire Jake Garner.
“First of all, the only thing I wanted to know from him (the umpire) is, how does he think it’s possible that Kyle hits the shot that he hit so clean and so flat and fast if he hit it with the frame.
Djokocis didn’t blame Edmund for the incident and said “If you hit it with the frame, it’s supposed to kind of slow down the trajectory of the ball. I was 100% convinced it was twice. I heard from people that it was.
Djokovic next plays Russian world number 40 Karen Khachanov in the pre-quarter final on Monday.
