Novak Djokovic faces being ‘offended’ again at US Open against Ben Shelton
Novak Djokovic could be in for a tough time with the US Open crowd on Friday as he takes on home hope Ben Shelton. The world No 47 is the last American standing in the men’s draw and will have huge support in his maiden Grand Slam semi-final. But Djokovic is no stranger to crowd hostility, as commentators claimed he was “offended” during the Wimbledon final.
Djokovic is set to face an American at the US Open for the second match in a row, and this time it will be an unknown opponent for the second seed. The three-time champion in Flushing Meadows will take on Shelton, who is playing in just his fifth Major tournament.
The 20-year-old has become a firm fan favourite at his home Grand Slam event and Djokovic is already well aware that the crowd will be pulling for their man. It won’t be the first time that the Serb has found himself battling the spectators as well as his opponent, as he has often felt the wrath of a one-sided tennis stadium
During the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz, commentator Andrew Castle noticed that the world No 2 wasn’t happy when the fans cheered his mistakes. He said: “Now we hear applause from the crowd, as Djokovic in a sarcastic way thinks ‘Why are you cheering this guy? It was lucky, I shouldn’t have missed that’. He’s so mildly offended by the support his opponent is getting. He likes it when people are against him sometimes, he uses it.”
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But, as Castle noticed, Djokovic has often thrived in hostile environments. The 23-time Grand Slam champion will be hoping to do the same thing again when he faces Shelton in the semi-final but he has already admitted that it will be difficult when the fans get into the match.
Djokovic had some practice against Fritz in the quarter-final, though the crowd were flatter than expected as the second seed put on a clinic, winning 6-1 6-4 6-4. But he knew that things could turn sour if the spectators were given a reason to rally behind their man.
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“I didn’t really want him to win the third set, because, you know, then I guess the crowd would really get into it even more and it would become more difficult task for me to handle,” he said afterwards. “Because, you know, it’s normal, it’s logical to expect that most of the crowd would support the home player.”
It’s something Djokovic is expecting against the world No 47. “That’s probably going to be the case on Friday, but I’ll be ready for it,” he added. As well as the crowd, the second seed is also expecting a challenge from Shelton himself. “I mean, Ben Shelton has been serving some bombs this tournament. When his serve is on, he’s very difficult player to play against, especially because he’s lefty, as well,” he said of the American’s game.
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