Novak Djokovic’s fan club, also called NoleFam, is passionate about defending their champion player when someone says something ill about their hero. Another instance of the same took place recently on social media. The backdrop of it was the World No.1’s Monte Carlo Masters semi-final match against Casper Ruud. The Serb lost his temper many times due to the crowd deliberately distracting or booing him more so when points were being played out.
Djokovic lost the semi-final 4-6, 6-1, 4-6. During the game, the Serb was heard yelling “Shut the f*** up” to the public a few times. Now, in his defense, the crowd did make some noise that may have distracted Djokovic. And that’s probably why the umpire didn’t reprimand Djokovic for that.
But many, including Andy Roddick, weren’t happy with the fact that Novak Djokovic was given a free pass by the umpire despite the World No.1 directing an abusive rant towards the crowd. So the NoleFam targeted Roddick, calling the former World No.1 a ‘hypocrite’ for himself getting away with poor behavior on court on many instances.
“You shut the fuck up!” Djokovic is not happy with a fan calling out pic.twitter.com/7st7i9j5By
— Full Slate Podcast (@Full_Slate_Pod) April 13, 2024
Andy Roddick had also brought up Holger Rune and claimed that he received a warning from the chair umpire during his Monte Carlo Masters match against Jannik Sinner. On that instance, Rune was questioning a decision made by the umpire. But Novak Djokovic went scot-free for verbal abuse, without even getting a warning for the same.
Don’t really care. Just generally surprising when Rune got called for pretty much nothing yesterday. Shouldn’t be controversial to suggest that someone gets a warning when they loudly tell the crowd to shut the fuck up repeatedly …. Do you disagree?
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) April 13, 2024
Did @andyroddick care that much when Shapovalov who did it? Or when Andy Murray spent all those years swearing very loudly at himself/the opponent/his box?
Go back to focusing on Nadal.
— AmeliaS (@AmethystShining) April 13, 2024
Roddick called out Djokovic and the tennis officials for this bias separately on the Tennis Channel and on X. He was clear that Djokovic should’ve been given a warning since he was abused 4 times by the crowd. However, the NoleFam absolutely blasted Roddick online.
No self-awareness. @andyroddick is a very small child. Still. And forever. https://t.co/hICM4aNkK5
— Thomas (@boyhairdresser) April 14, 2024
Having seen these comments, Andy Roddick even rushed to defend himself by saying that he was aware he got away with bad behavior.
I literally started the conversation by saying I know I didn’t behave well in my career. I also wouldn’t have expected not to get a warning had I repeatedly shouted at the crowd to shut the fuck up ……. Self awareness not a problem.
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) April 14, 2024
Were the officials right in warning Holger Rune and letting Novak Djokovic go?
In Holger Rune’s case, the umpire made a wrong decision to give the Dane a time violation. Following the violation, the crowd started booing, which further threw him off his game. Rune gestured to the crowd to keep quiet without abusing in any way, and for that, he was warned for ‘unsportsmanlike’ conduct.
It was a bit too much, something that the Dane wasn’t happy about at all. Compared to that, it is true that Djokovic got off far easily. In the end, Holger Rune lost 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6 to Jannik Sinner.
Meaning what @atptour …..? Not that you gave me the best conditions in the first place having to play 2 matches the day before ending late , leaving almost no recovery time. Chair Umpire making crucial mistakes and giving wrong warning that disturbed the game. May the force be… https://t.co/uOTxIwD56Q
— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) April 13, 2024
Hi. If I want to cry , I cry. If I want to scream , I scream. That’s me And by the way , I never cry. This post was mainly mentioning that it’s probably the shortest tournament I had in a long time in Europe and still 3 matches . Very efficient
— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) April 13, 2024