published24. May 2022, 20:48
Novak Djokovic started the tournament at the French Open with a strong athletic performance, but in the first round win once morest Yoshihito Nishioka, the world number one also drew boos from the fans.
After Novak Djokovic missed the first Grand Slam tournament of the year in January due to the entry chaos in Australia related to his lack of vaccination, the Serb is all the more motivated to compete at the French Open in Paris to win his 21st major title . The world number one was already in top form on Monday when he swept the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (ATP 99) 6: 3, 6: 1, 6: 0 off the Philippe-Chatrier court.
Much more to talk regarding than Djokovic’s brilliant sporting performance once once more gave his behavior away from the rallies. At the beginning of the second set, the 35-year-old celebrated a point he had won with a frenetic shout of joy. Completely exaggerated – at least some fans are in the stands, booing the Serb following his celebration.
McEnroe protects Djokovic
“Nole” is not impressed by the reaction of the audience, continues to play big and provocatively celebrates itself once more following the next point won. Now the isolated boos become a whistling concert, in which large parts of the audience now participate.
Tennis icon John McEnroe comments on Roland Garros for the TV channel Eurosport and says regarding Djokovic’s jubilation incident: “I don’t know why they are booing him. I mean my god. Are you kidding me?”
The boos don’t have a negative impact on Djokovic’s performance. On the contrary – following the incident, the 20-time Grand Slam winner only gave up one game by the end of the game and thus qualified confidently for the second round in Paris, where he met Slovakian Alex Molcan (ATP 38) on Wednesday will.