French Open: 'I don't like that!' - Novak Djokovic gets booed and cheered before match, Alex Corretja reacts
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Updated 29/05/2022 at 12:09 GMT
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic received a very mixed reception from fans on Court Suzanne-Lenglen ahead of his French Open fourth-round match with Diego Schwartzman on Sunday afternoon. The mixture of boos and cheers did not impress Eurosport experts Alex Corretja and Alize Lim, who were standing courtside when Djokovic strode onto the court in Paris.
'I don't like that!' - Corretja reacts as Djokovic gets booed and cheered as he enters court
Eurosport expert Alex Corretja has given his reaction after world No. 1 Novak Djokovic was both booed and cheered as he entered the court at the French Open.
The top seed and defending champion was walking onto Court Suzanne-Lenglen when he received a very mixed ovation with loud boos and roars at the same time making for quite an atmosphere.
Djokovic was striding out for his less-than-easy fourth-round encounter with Diego Schwartzman, who is seeded 15th at Roland-Garros and has a serious pedigree around this kind of stage of a Grand Slam.
The reaction from the fans in Paris shocked Eurosport experts Corretja and Alize Lim as they stood courtside observing the ovations given to both players.
"Yes, here we are!" exclaimed an excited Corretja as Djokovic was first announced over the tannoy with initial cheers.
But as the boos began to become clear, his reaction changed.
"Hey?!" he responded, looking up at the fans.
"I don't like that! No, man. It is Novak Djokovic. He has shown us, given us so much.
"So just support both, and let's just enjoy the match! This is pretty much what we need."
Lim reported: "That's tough. I think there is both cheering and a little bit of booing as well.
"No, I don't like that either. Come on, it's the world No. 1, let's just be respectful."
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Djokovic begins match against Schwartzman with big ace down T
Attention has already shifted to the fact that Djokovic could be set to face his great rival, 13-time champion Rafael Nadal, in the quarter-finals in what is a very lopsided men's draw at Roland-Garros with rising Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz also in that half of the bracket and a potential opponent in the semi-finals.
When asked after his third-round victory at Roland-Garros about the prospect of the match-up and the scheduling that could have a significant bearing on who is declared the favourite, Djokovic was diplomatic but also clear.
“All I’ll say is [that] Rafa and I might make totally different requests," he said.
Meanwhile, Nadal has been abundantly clear about his preference for playing on clay during the day and not at night.
"I don’t like to play on clay during the night because humidity is higher, the ball is slower, and can be very heavy conditions especially when it’s cold," he admitted.
"I think that makes a big difference on the way [you] play tennis on clay during the night and during the day.”
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