'You should respect him' - Novak Djokovic treatment from French Open fans 'really unfair' - Goran Ivanisevic

Novak Djokovic's coach, Goran Ivanisevic, has spoken out against the treatment his player received from fans at the French Open. The 13-time champion overcame the world No. 1 and reigning champion in four gruelling sets in the night match on Tuesday night as fans were treated to an epic encounter between the two old rivals.

Ad/> Nadal had to show all his fighting spirit and famous resistance to edge out his old foe in their titanic quarter-final 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(3) with the match lasting four hours and 12 minutes and finishing at 1.15am local time. Roland-GarrosExclusive: 'Double joy' — Toni Nadal reacts to Ruud facing his 'idol' Rafa in final2 HOURS AGO It was a quite incredible contest with few quite believing that Nadal had done it yet again and found such a level having struggled for fitness since his triumph at the Australian Open at the start of the year. Ivanisevic, who has worked with Djokovic since June 2019, said that the way the top seed was booed onto Court Philippe-Chatrier for the quarter-final — and indeed previous matches — was «really unfair» given all he has achieved in the sport.

«I mean, we knew that it was going to be like that,» Ivanisevic told Tennis Majors. «Before the match, I said 80 per cent out of respect, but in reality, it was 99.9 per cent of the pro-Rafa crowd. »The only thing that I do not like and the thing that is really unfair is for the crowd to boo Djokovic when he entered the court.

I mean, he is the No. 1 player in the world and he has won 20 Grand Slam titles. «There is no reason to do such a thing – whether you love him or not, you should respect him.