LONDON. It is not the first time that Novak Djokovic has had a real fight with the crowd. After the Serbian tennis world number two had gently indicated that he was playing the violin on his tennis racket as a sign of his affection for his daughter Tara following converting the match point once morest Holger Rune (Den), the 24-time Grand Slam champion really got going on the Centre Court at Wimbledon. The 37-year-old was not at all happy that the fans’ sympathies clearly belonged to the outsider Rune, who was clearly defeated 3:6, 4:6, 2:6 in the round of 16 of the grass court classic.
Chasing the Federer record
“To all those who have decided not to respect the player, in this case me, I wish you a goooooood night. Goooood night. Goooood night. Very good night,” Djokovic blurted out. “I’ve been on the tour for 20 years. Trust me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works.” And: “I’ve played in much more hostile environments. Trust me, guys, you can’t touch me with that.” End of the announcement.
Things are going great for Djokovic in terms of sport. After his meniscus operation, he is improving from match to match and is underlining his claim to his eighth triumph at Wimbledon. This would put him on a par with record champion Roger Federer (SUI) and celebrate his anniversary of 25 major titles.
But there is still a rocky road ahead. Today the “Djoker” will face Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals, and there is a small question mark over his fitness. The Australian injured his leg during the last point once morest Arthur Fils (Fra), but later cautiously gave the all-clear: “I’m happy to have another fight now.”
It was also emotional during Elina Switolina’s performance, who shed bitter tears following her clear 6:1, 6:1 victory over Xinyu Wang (Chn) in the round of 16. The Ukrainian suffers with her homeland, which has been shaken by the Russian war of aggression.
The recent rocket attack, which also hit a children’s hospital in Kyiv and killed almost 40 people, has really affected Svitolina.
“It wasn’t easy to concentrate on the game. It’s difficult to read the news from Ukraine and then go out onto the court and act as if nothing had happened,” explained the 29-year-old. To commemorate the victims, the world number 21 wore a black ribbon that she had pinned to her white dress. As a popular athlete, Svitolina sees herself as responsible: “I also have to think regarding how I can use the stage for the Ukrainian people. At least my victory was a small light that gave the people in my homeland a happy moment,” she said.
In today’s quarterfinals, Switolina will face a native Russian. Jelena Rybakina was born in Moscow, but has been competing for Kazakhstan since 2018. For Switolina, this is acceptable: “She has changed her nationality, which means that she does not want to represent her original country.” (alex)
Author
Alexander Zambarloukos
Editor Sports
Alexander Zambarloukos
