Djokovic lets rip after majestic
performance, Zverev bows out 'on one leg'
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[July 09, 2024]
By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) - Emotions ran high for Novak Djokovic on Monday as
he angrily lashed out at Wimbledon fans following his three-set
demolition job over young Dane Holger Rune in the fourth round,
while it was game over for a previously indestructible Alexander
Zverev.
After tentative performances in his two previous outings, seven-time
champion Djokovic had appeared to be back to his best against Rune
as he dished out a 6-3 6-4 6-2 masterclass to set up a quarter-final
date with Australian Alex De Minaur.
But for the thousands of fans who had stuck around late into the
night to watch the match under a closed Centre Court roof, it is
unlikely their abiding memory from day eight of the championships
will have anything to do with the dazzling backhands or forehands
that were on show.
Instead, what they will remember is the astonishing words that
flowed out of Djokovic's mouth during a bizarre post-match
interview, in which he accused the crowd of disrespecting him.
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Irritated by the fans who greeted Rune's occasional moments of
brilliance with chants of "Ruuune!", he ranted: "To all those people
that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a
goooooood night! Goooooood night! Goooooood night!"
When the interviewer suggested the fans had merely been chanting his
rival's name, Djokovic disagreed.
"I don't accept that, no, no, no. I know there they were cheering
for Rune but that's an excuse to also boo. Listen, I've been on the
tour for more than 20 years. So trust me, I know all the tricks. I
know how it works. It's fine. It's fine," he added pointing to the
stands.
"I focus on respectful people that have respect that paid the ticket
to come and watch tonight and love tennis and appreciate the players
and the effort they're putting in.
"I've played in much more hostile environments. Trust me, you guys,
you guys can't touch me."
It was a strange way to end proceedings on Centre Court which had
earlier witnessed world number four Zverev becoming the highest
men's seed to fall by the wayside. The German came unstuck against
Taylor Fritz in a five-set thriller despite being only two games
away from securing a place in the last eight for the first time.
ONE LEG
Like Djokovic, who had knee surgery last month, Zverev turned up on
court wearing a protective support around his leg after falling
awkwardly during his previous match.
That did not stop the German trading brutal blows with Fritz for
3-1/2 hours before he fell to a 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 6-3 defeat
after he was finally broken for the first time at this year's
championships having chalked up 56 successive holds of serve.
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![](../images/070924PIX/sports33.jpg)
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club,
London, Britain - July 8, 2024 Germany's Alexander Zverev reacts
during his fourth round match against Taylor Fritz of the U.S.
REUTERS/Paul Childs
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Zverev regularly bombarded his American opponent
with 130 mph missiles, fired down 19 thunderbolt aces, produced 55
winners and even won the longest rally in the contest which dragged
on for 21 shots -- and at the end of it all, the German declared he
had been playing "on one leg".
"It was fairly obvious that I wasn't 100% today, right?" Zverev
asked reporters before elaborating that an MRI scan had shown that
he had a tear in his knee capsule as well as bone bruising.
"There wasn't really long rallies because I couldn't play long
rallies. Credit to him that he came back but it wasn't a great
tennis match."
The Fritz-Zverev marathon was the 35th match to go five sets at the
All England Club this year, tying the record for the most at any
slam since tennis turned professional in 1968.
Eastbourne champion Fritz's victory also raised a glimmer of hope
that the 21-year slam drought for American men might soon end after
he joined Queen's Club champion Tommy Paul in the last eight. For
the first time since 2000, more than one American man will feature
in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
It was not a good day for Frenchmen, however, as De Minaur beat
Arthur Fils 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-3, while Italian Lorenzo Musetti set up a
showdown with Fritz after gatecrashing Mpetshi Perricard's 21st
birthday celebrations with a 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2 win.
Elena Rybakina, the only women's Wimbledon champion left in the
draw, got an easy ride after Anna Kalinskaya retired hurt while
trailing 6-3 3-0. The Kazakh will face Elina Svitolina, who
demolished Xinyu Wang 6-2 6-1.
The other quarter-final in the top half of the women's draw will
feature two players who have both triumphed at the French Open.
Barbora Krejcikova beat Danielle Collins 7-5 6-3, while Jelena
Ostapenko was a 6-2 6-3 winner over Yulia Putintseva.
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Christian Radnedge)
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