Novak Djokovic criticises 'unfair' Wimbledon crowd during Kyle Edmund match
Monday 9 July 2018 13:23, UK
Novak Djokovic has criticised the behaviour of sections of the Centre Court crowd during his third-round victory over British No 1 Kyle Edmund.
The three-time champion recovered from losing the first set to progress to the second week but took offence to being jeered by a fervent home crowd, many of whom were revelling in England's progress to the World Cup semi-finals.
Djokovic received a time violation during the third set, met by widespread applause, but the intense atmosphere only seemed to further galvanise the former world No 1.
"I expected them to support Kyle, obviously," Edmund said in his post-match press conference.
"But at times they were slightly unfair to me. That's how it goes."
He added: "I deservedly got a time violation. I thought the crowd's reaction after that was quite unnecessary.
"A couple guys were 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.
"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."
I played Andy Murray a couple of times (at Wimbledon). I played him in the Olympic Games. It was not like this, definitely. They kept on going, provoking
Djokovic who has faced Andy Murray on numerous occasions, including the Wimbledon final in 2013, said he had never encountered such an atmosphere from a British crowd.
"I played Andy Murray a couple of times [at Wimbledon]. I played him in the Olympic Games. It was not like this, definitely.
"They kept on going, provoking. That's something that I can tolerate for a little bit, but I'm going to show that I'm present, as well, that they can't do whatever they feel like doing."
Edmund, playing in only his third match on Centre Court, enjoyed the atmosphere and did not feel the crowd overstepped the mark.
He said: "I'm not aware of that. It's not really my job to get too much into that. For me, I'm British. I'm playing in front of the British crowd. I'm just trying to soak it all in and enjoy it.
"I've played in Serbia. Serbian fans obviously supported Serbian players. That's normal. When you're on Centre Court, to have the crowd behind you, it's a great thing to have."
There was also a moment of contention in the fourth set when umpire Jake Garner adjudged Edmund to have reached a drop volley for a winner - only for TV replays to show the ball had bounced twice and the shot to have gone wide.
Djokovic argued his case strongly at the time but refused to attach any blame towards his opponent after the match.
"Kyle is a very nice guy. I know him and have tons of respect for him, his team," Djokovic said.
"We get along very well. Nothing against Kyle there. You couldn't know. He was running towards the ball and he just hit it and he dropped his racket. It was quite a strange decision from the chair umpire, but it happens."
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