Novak Djokovic makes furious French Open crowd claim after Rafael Nadal loss

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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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Former world No 1 John McEnroe had already slammed the French Open crowd multiple times during the match for booing their two-time champion. Djokovic was first greeted by a mixture of booing and applause when he took to the court for the match and the seven-time Grand Slam champion was left unhappy with the crowd’s response.

“I think it blows basically is what I think,” he said on Eurosport. “I mean it’s crazy, come on. This guy is a credit to our sport, he comes out on the court, this is one of the greatest matches. They may never see – they will probably never see this match again on this court. Come on.”

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And the American was quick to criticise the fans inside Chatrier once again when they booed Djokovic early in the fourth set for smacking his racquet into the net in frustration at missing a point. “I mean, cut the guy some slack!” McEnroe exclaimed.

“I mean, come on! He’s out there battling, he hit the ball, he thinks it’s going to be a winner… it clips the tape, and then that’s harsh. That’s all I can say. They should be happy he cares that much!”

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