Dylan Bettencourt
Novak Djokovic was booed by the French Open crowd for celebrating too wildly when he made his first Grand Slam appearance of the year.
The Serbian defeated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets to advance to the second round.
Djokovic missed the year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, in January due to a widely-covered dispute over his Covid-19 vaccination status.
The 35-year-old was ejected from both the competition and the country in disgrace as he did not meet the vaccine requirements and later admitted to lying on his travel document.
On Wednesday, Djokovic was delighted to be back on a Grand Slam court, but his celebrations may have gone too far in the second set when the crowd took issue with his theatrics.
When he won a crucial point, he screamed loudly and pumped his fists which prompted jeers from the crowd.
American tennis legend John McEnroe, who was providing commentary for Eurosport, said he could not understand why Djokovic was being booed.
“Are you kidding me? Why would they boo that? ‘He’s trying too hard, let’s boo him,’” McEnroe said.
Djokovic did not compete for over a month following his Australian Open saga. Upon his return, he struggled in several tournaments due to a lack of fitness.
However, earlier this month the Serbian returned to winning ways when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Italian Open.
The momentum from his triumph in Italy showed in France as he defeated his first opponent in only 59 minutes, dropping only four games along the way.
Following his victory, Djokovic said he is once again feeling good on the court.
“I have to be pleased with the match,” he said.
“I struggled to adapt in the first set. He is a very quick player. The first set was close, but I cruised through the second and third.”
Djokovic, who won the French Open last year, said that the memories of that victory are still fresh in his mind.
The 20 time Grand Slam winner earned himself another straight sets victory to progress to the third round on Wednesday.
Image source: @Reuters
