Goran Ivanisevic believes the crowd was unfair to Novak Djokovic during his quarterfinal clash against Rafael Nadal at the French Open.
“Before the match, I said 80 percent out of respect, but in reality it was 99.9 percent of the pro-Rafa crowd,” Ivanisevic told Tennis Majors in an extensive interview.
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“The only thing that I do not like and the thing that is really unfair is for the crowd to boo Djokovic when he entered the court.
“I mean, he is the No 1 player in the world and he has won 20 Grand Slam titles.
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“There is no reason to do such a thing – whether you love him or not, you should respect him. Afterwards, cheer for Rafa, of course we knew that it was going to be like that.
“I do not know if Novak was bothered by that or not – he has learned how to deal with it and that cannot be an excuse, in my opinion.”
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Nadal defeated Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 and went on to win his 14th French Open title later.
Ivanisevic, however, said that the Spaniard was the more consistent player in the match and a worthy winner.
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“What would happen had he won the fourth set, nobody knows, but that is just good old ‘what if’,” the former Wimbledon champion said.
“He had two set points (in the fourth set): the first one was an easy backhand unforced error, on the second he approached the net with the ball in the middle of the court, so Rafa passed him.
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“Maybe it would have been different, maybe it would not, but I still do not understand the body language and the lack of energy.
“Novak had too many ups and downs, while Rafa was consistent and he absolutely deserved to win that match.”
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Nadal’s latest French Open triumph saw him take his major tally to 22: two ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer.
