'To all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a goooooood night!'
After his thumping victory against Denmark's Holger Rune, an angry Novak Djokovic launched a tirade against 'disrespectful' fans at Wimbledon on Monday.
The seven-time champion was riled by some of the crowd who greeted Rune's occasional moments of brilliance with chants of "Ruuune!" and did not hold back in his on-court interview.
"Well to all the fans that have respect and stayed here tonight thank you very much from the bottom of my heart I appreciate it," Djokovic said after the victory.
"And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a goooooood night!"
When the on-court interviewer interjected and suggested the fans had merely been chanting the name of his young opponent, Djokovic begged to differ.
"I don't accept that, no, no, no. I know there they were cheering for Rune but that's an excuse to also boo. Listen, I've been on the Tour for more than 20 years. So trust me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works. It's fine. It's fine.
"I focus on respectful people that have respect that paid the ticket to come and watch tonight and love tennis and appreciate the players and the effort they're putting in.
"I've played in much more hostile environments. Trust me, you guys, you guys can't touch me."
Djokovic, bidding to become the first player to win 25 Grand Slam titles, will contest his record-extending 60th Grand Slam quarter-final against Australia's Alex De Minaur on Wednesday.
"I'm feeling good," he said. "Alex is one of the quickest if not the quickest player on the Tour. So you know I'm going to have to do a lot of running.
"But I'm enjoying my running still at 37, so I'm okay."
