Patricio Apey says he doesn't agree with the notion that Novak Djokovic is not a popular player but just thinks that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal fans have probably tried to make it look like the Serb is not a very liked person.
As you probably already know extremely well, Djokovic has achieved absolutely massive things over the last decade and a half but he has never been the most liked among the crowds. Even after becoming the first-ever man with 24 Grand Slams, Djokovic still deals with boos and sees the crowd being against him in pretty much all four Majors, with the most recent case of it coming at this past Wimbledon.
Apey, a former Chilean tennis player and coach of Gabriela Sabatini, Fernando Gonzalez and Guillermo Coria, has established himself as one of the top agents in the game over the last two decades. And whenever he had a chance to spend some time with Djokovic, Apey - who in the past represented Alexander Zverev and currently manages Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz and Sebastian Korda - had the feeling that the 37-year-old Serb was a "caring, intelligent and classy person."
“Novak is just a great guy. I’ve been lucky enough to get to know him down the years. I’ve done some things for his Foundation and I don’t have the smallest bad word to say about him. Of course, everyone will care how fans view them, but I’m not sure it’s entirely true to say that Djokovic is not popular with the tennis public," Apey told Tennis365.
“A lot of Federer and Nadal fans may drive that message, but he is caring, he is as intelligent as can be and is a class act in so many ways. He can attend an event for a charity or a foundation and deliver a 30-minute speech about the mission of the organization without a single note. He is always so impressive.
“He’s so grounded, centered and comfortable in his skin. That’s more important than anything anyone can say about him. You can’t please all of the people all of the time, that’s the reality.”
Patricio Apey © Getty Images Sport - Phil Cole Djokovic recently clashed with the Wimbledon crowd
At the most recent Wimbledon edition, Djokovic had enough of the crowd's antics during his round-of-16 match against Holger Rune and that led to an annoyed reaction that became a viral moment.
Throughout the match, the crowd was delivering a long "Ruuuuuune" chant. But in Djokovic's mind, he had no doubt what the intention behind it was - he thought the crowd was trying to boo and disrespect him in an indirect way. And after he sealed a routine 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over Rune, he had something special for the Wimbledon crowd.
"To all the fans that have had respect and stayed here tonight, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I appreciate it. And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player -- in this case me -- have a goooooooood night," an annoyed Djokovic told the crowd.
Novak Djokovic © Getty Images Sport - Mike Hewitt Djokovic shut down a claim made by the interviewer and Rune
After Djokovic unloaded at the Wimbledon crowd, the BBC interviewer on the court tried to calm down the seven-time Wimbledon champion by telling him that the crowd was just supporting the Dane with those long chants. But the 38-year-old Serb had none of it, making it pretty clear that he didn't believe that for a second.
"They were (booing). They were. I am not accepting it. No, no, no. I know they were cheering for Rune but that's an excuse to also boo. Listen, I have been on the tour for more than 20 years. I know all the tricks, I know how it works. I focus on the respectful people that pay for the ticket, and love tennis and appreciate the players. I have played in much more hostile environments, trust me -- you guys can't touch me," Djokovic responded on the court.
Novak Djokovic © Getty Images Sport - Shaun Botterill
When Rune was asked about the incident during his presser, he also explained that he thought the crowd was just rooting for him and nothing more than that.
After the incident with the crowd, Djokovic didn't play again for four days because his Wimbledon quarterfinal match never took place after Alex de Minaur gave him a walkover. When Djokovic resumed his Wimbledon run, he defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinal before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the final for a second consecutive year.
Djokovic is set to play next at the Paris Olympics, which will be held at Roland Garros - where he is also no stranger to crowd boos.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/Lu2AUTF
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