“I know that everybody paid for tickets there, and hopefully gets to see a great five-set match,” Zverev said.
“But you’ve got to understand Novak Djokovic is someone who has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.
“He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear. He has won this tournament with a hamstring tear.”
“Please be respectful.”
Speaking on the Nine coverage soon after the stunning end of Djokovic’s campaign, American legend John McEnroe and former Australian player John Millman slammed the booing from the crowd.
“The crowds [this tournament] have been questioned a lot, and rightly so,” Millman said.
“I just think it’s a bit of a shambles – some of it has crossed the line and that one takes the cake for me. This is a guy who has won it 10 times, have some respect. He’s one of the all-time greats, if not the greatest. He’s definitely the greatest to play on this court. I don’t care how much you’ve spent on your ticket, have some respect.”
McEnroe said Djokovic, along with former champion Rafael Nadal, had dug deeper both physically and mentally than any two players he’s seen.
“He’s won this tournament 10 times, I mean, come on! I mean, clearly something was up,” McEnroe said.
“To do that [boo] because he decided he couldn’t go on after what he’s done here I thought was absolutely ludicrous. Honestly, that was depressing … that was almost as depressing as seeing him end the match. ”
More to come
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