US Open<\/a> crowd\u2019s reaction took things a step too far.<\/p>\nWhy Novak Djokovic was booed at the 2019 US Open<\/p>\n
Djokovic has always had a complicated relationship with fans in New York, as a unique atmosphere unlike any other on tour.<\/p>\n
There, supporters will chat, chant and shout without fear of the players\u2019 welfare, making for a hostile and troublesome environment for most players to play in.<\/p>\n
Naturally, the Serbian has adapted over the years and won four titles to prove that.<\/p>\n
However, 2019 was not one of those occasions, as he was forced to retire mid-match due to a persisting shoulder injury that he simply could not shake.<\/p>\n
He did all he could, but in the end had to concede to Stan Wawrinka in just the fourth round.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This decision was met by a chorus of boos from the US Open crowd, unhappy that their viewing had been cut short. <\/p>\n
Martina Navratilova would then jump to Djokovic\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n
How Martina Navratilova reacted to US Open crowd\u2019s treatment of Novak Djokovic in 2019<\/p>\n
Speaking on Tennis Channel in the aftermath, she did not hold back in her scathing assessment of those supporters who chose to boo.<\/p>\n
The 18-time Grand Slam champion hit back, stating: \u201cYou know, tennis players 365 days in a year, you play maybe 70 matches, so in 290 days you are preparing for those matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, for people to question Novak Djokovic\u2019s commitment to the game when he defaulted yesterday and booing him when he is walking off the court\u2026 that\u2019s just not on.<\/p>\n
![\"Martina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2206741947-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Leonardo Fernandez\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to really chill because we are professionals and we want to play. We don\u2019t want to quit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s played six hours in matches just grinding it out before, this was a view to the future for him. Protecting what the rest of the year holds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Given what she said about Coco Gauff after the French Open final, it\u2019s expected that Aryna Sabalenka will have to deal with a hostile US Open atmosphere<\/a>.<\/p>\nAt least Djokovic, a good friend of hers, will be on hand to help her navigate the turmoil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic, throughout his entire career, has been a polarising figure. Often playing with a chip on his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[17515,433,99,428,11883],"class_list":{"0":"post-22170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-martina-navratilova","9":"tag-novak-djokovic","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-tennis","12":"tag-us-open"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Novak](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-1165581015-1024x710.jpg\")
Photo credit should read DON EMMERT\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n