Martina Navratilova unloaded on the Australian Open crowd, slamming their treatment of Novak Djokovic as “disgusting.”
Moments after retiring injured from his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev at Melbourne, the tournament’s record 10-time champion was booed off the court.
The scene quickly went viral and many weren’t that impressed with the crowd’s act, especially knowing that the 37-year-old battled an injury going into the match and there were even doubts if he would be able to play.
And Navratilova – a former three-time Australian Open winner and one of the greatest ever – couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“What I’m really upset about is the crowd booing Novak. Seriously? Nobody wanted to finish that match more than Novak. Nobody. And then they boo. I mean seriously, it’s just disgusting,” the former 18-time Grand Slam champion said on Tennis Channel.
Djokovic’s reaction to the boos
On Friday, fans saw an hour and 21 minutes of action as Zverev won a marathon first set 7-6 (5).
When asked in his presser to address the boos, the Serbian tennis star said he could understand the spectators from the perspective that they paid their money and wanted to see a full match.
“I am doing my best to understand them, but I am not sure whether they understand me or if they even want to understand me,” Djokovic said.
Novak Djokovic© Australian Open/YouTube
After making that clear, the world No. 7 pretty much said that the crowd probably had zero understanding for him.
“I know how my body works, what I feel, and I know how much I’ve given to this tournament in the past 20-plus years. I will stop here, so that I don’t continue (speaking) in the wrong direction,” he added, with a wry smile,” he said.
Shortly after the match, Djokovic also withdrew from next week’s Davis Cup tie against Denmark.
Tennis World USA