'You should respect him' - Novak Djokovic treatment from French Open fans 'really unfair' - Goran Ivanisevic

Updated 04/06/2022 at 14:09 GMT

"I mean, we knew that it was going to be like that," Goran Ivanisevic told Tennis Majors about the French Open crowd not being for Novak Djokovic. "Before the match, I said 80 per cent out of respect, but in reality, it was 99.9 per cent of the pro-Rafa crowd. 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."

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Novak Djokovic's coach, Goran Ivanisevic, has spoken out against the treatment his player received from fans at the French Open.

The 13-time champion overcame the world No. 1 and reigning champion in four gruelling sets in the night match on Tuesday night as fans were treated to an epic encounter between the two old rivals.

Nadal had to show all his fighting spirit and famous resistance to edge out his old foe in their titanic quarter-final 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(3) with the match lasting four hours and 12 minutes and finishing at 1.15am local time.

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It was a quite incredible contest with few quite believing that Nadal had done it yet again and found such a level having struggled for fitness since his triumph at the Australian Open at the start of the year.

Ivanisevic, who has worked with Djokovic since June 2019, said that the way the top seed was booed onto Court Philippe-Chatrier for the quarter-final - and indeed previous matches - was "really unfair" given all he has achieved in the sport.

"I mean, we knew that it was going to be like that," Ivanisevic told Tennis Majors. "Before the match, I said 80 per cent out of respect, but in reality, it was 99.9 per cent of the pro-Rafa crowd.

"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.

"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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Ivanisevic also said he has struggled to sleep since the match and was troubled by how it played out with Djokovic struggling to find the level that everyone knows he is usually able to find on the biggest stage.

“I have to be brutally honest, to begin with – I am in a funk and I can’t sleep,” he said. “I cannot say that I am disappointed, but I am sad.

"It was not a perfect match from either side. Rafa did not play a spectacular match, but the body language decided, from the first point until the last: Rafa’s body language and Novak’s body language.

"I warned him, I even told you guys (journalists) that the start of the match could be decisive, but again, a bad start… And then, after the turnaround in the second set, it is incomprehensible the way he played the third set.

"It was like he lacked energy and like he did not believe sufficiently that he could win. You cannot allow that to yourself against Rafa, because this is his tournament.

"What would happen had he won the fourth set, nobody knows, but that is just good old ‘what if’. He had two set points: 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.

"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."