Novak Djokovic is unarguably among the of the greatest players of all times. Yet the Serbian does not receive much support from the crowd, the adulation which the audience has for Federer is not there for him and it’s all so conspicuous.
Why Djokovic is not supported by the crowd
One reason for this can be that both Federer and Nadal dominated the tennis court for a long time before Djokovic emerged on the scene and equalled them. So probably both Nadal and Federer had many ardent fans who continued to support them and have not shifted their loyalty.
Other reason can be that some consider that Novak’s style of play is very ‘robotic’ and it does not have the elegance of Federer. But he has something which other players don’t have, like he has the best returns in tennis and most strikingly, he is able to handle himself better in pressure situations as is shown in the Wimbledon final this year.
At times tough, fans behaviour becomes downright disrespectful as was seemingly the case during this year’s Wimbledon final. When Djokovic double-faulted then the crowd applauded. Many fans didn’t seem to like the fact that he was better than Federer by a thin margin to lift the trophy.
One important point to draw here is that when Federer loses to other players, for example, Nadal then the crowd does not show the same hostility as it showed to Djokovic during the Wimbledon final. It is simply irritating to people who purely support tennis and this behaviour from the crowd is hardly appreciable.
This has happened throughout the career of Djokovic, his unforced errors are applauded and in general, he has been at the receiving end. This is really disheartening to see that one of the greatest players ever is being treated in such a fashion.
Fans should retrospect their behaviour towards Djokovic and even if they do not support the Serbian, they should not boo him and certainly not applaud when he mistakes on the court.
