Novak Djokovic is known for being the bad boy tennis and has the love-hate relationship with the fans of the game however, Tim Henman asserts this view may not be as one-sided as it appears.
The Serbian confronted with fans at Wimbledon this summer and pointed his finger to his ear in an effort to silent his detractors, active in stands. This is not the first instance where 23-time GS Champion had direct altercations with the crowd, particularly at All England Club, yet the former British #1 believes the 7-time Wimbledon Champion thrives on all the negativity directed towards him.
Henman talked with Tennis365 in his role as a Sky Sports analyst and explained how Djokovic takes positives out of negatives and uses the rowdy spectators to his advantage.
“He has always been a character that has slightly divided opinion and that is not just because of his tennis and the decisions he has made on the court,” Henman told Tennis365.
“Having watched him a lot, he is almost a confrontational character. So if he has 80 per cent of the crowd’s support, he is the type of person who will focus on the 20 per cent and use it to motivate him and to fire himself up.
“I find it amazing and fascinating that he focuses on individuals in the crowd who are against him.
“Whatever way he approaches it, you can’t deny it isn’t working for him because his results are just incredible.
“I thought he had a real chance of doing the calendar Grand Slam this year as he was playing so well and it took an incredible performance in the final at Wimbledon from Carlos Alcaraz to stop him.”
The Brit also believes the Serb is heading into the Flushing Meadows without the usual pressure he has on his shoulders after winning Wimbledon. In his last appearance at the New York major, Djokovic was just one match away from completing the calendar slam but succumbed to the immense pressure that came with the occasion as he lost the historic final to Medvedev in straight sets.
Henman thinks the pressure proved too much for the 2023 Cincinnati Champion and now the 3-time US Open Champion will enter the Arthur Ashe without the big pressure he once had because of the chasing the Calendar Slam.
“Going into the US Open, I feel there is a little less expectation around Djokovic as he is not chasing the calendar Grand Slam,” he added.
“It was one step too far when he was going for it against Medvedev a couple of years ago and it wouldn’t surprise me if he relishes this challenge and wins against Grand Slam.”
Marion Bartoli on Djokovic’s Strained Relations with Fans
Henman’s comments are endorsed by former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, who in an exclusive interview with Tennis 365 backed the idea that Djokovic will always have the respect of tennis fans, but he may never get the universal love of the fans.
“I just feel that Novak raises himself and is even stronger when he is against adversity. He likes to play and compete against it,” Bartoli told the tennis website.
“I think people just got used so much to two players facing each other. If you look at the history of tennis it was (Bjorn) Borg against (John) McEnroe, it was (Pete) Sampras against (Andre) Agassi and it was Roger (Federer) against (Rafa) Nadal. You are not used to having a third one.
“The third one feels like the disruptor. You want to cheer for one or the other. You say ‘I want to cheer for Roger’ or ‘I want to cheer for Rafa’. You don’t want the third one that comes in and wins everything.
“It was more the timing than anything else. When you talk to all the players and the fans around the world, people like Novak’s personality and they have so much respect for his game. But one was for Roger, the elegance, against Rafa the grinder, who has won 14 times at Roland Garros. But you can’t really go to the third one.
“If Novak had played just one other player, I think he would have had a much bigger fan base. So I think he has gained the respect from everyone, but in terms of the love, this is slightly different. It’s just human nature to cheer for one or the other and you don’t want the third one.”