Novak Djokovic has hit out at the French Open crowd as he claimed that “99.9 per cent” of Court Philippe-Chatrier was in Rafael Nadal’s corner during his loss to the Spaniard in Tuesday’s quarter-final. The Spaniard got revenge over the world No 1 for his defeat 12 months ago with a 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4) win.
Djokovic was the defending champion at the French Open but crashed out in the quarter-final on Tuesday night to his long-time rival Nadal. The world No 1 managed to come from 0-3 down in the second set to take it 6-4, which included a marathon 18-minute game.
He also led by 5-2 in the fourth set and even served for the match but ended up being taken to a tiebreak, where the 13-time champion managed to close out the victory in four sets. And the Serb has now claimed that the crowd were responsible for Nadal’s comeback in the fifth set as he accused the fans inside Court Philippe-Chatrier of being against him.
“I think the crowd contributed a lot to the turnaround in the fourth set. They were 99.9 per cent on his side and that’s it,” he said after the four-hour-and-12-minute battle. “They lifted him up in those crucial moments when he needed to. They helped him find his energy.”
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