Novak Djokovic after beating Holger Rune: "I thought they were booing, you wish to have crowd behind you but it's not always possible"

Novak Djokovic began his 2021 US Open campaign with a win over Danish teenager Holger Rune in the first round on Tuesday. Djokovic won 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1 before a distinctly partisan crowd who were constantly throwing their weight behind Rune.

After tamely surrendering the first set, Rune raced to a 3-0 lead in the second. Although Djokovic did claw his way back and take the set to a tiebreaker, it eventually ended up going Rune's way.

But the most interesting aspect of the set was arguably the manner in which the crowd heckled Djokovic. Several fans in the stadium were actively cheering for every error the Serb coughed up, and it was clear they were rooting for the underdog.

Even though Novak Djokovic has had a magnificent season and currently finds himself on the cusp of history at the US Open, many believe he doesn't get the amount of respect he deserves. The Serb faced a hostile crowd on several occasions at Wimbledon too, and he even expressed his disappointment at that.

On Tuesday too he looked visibly disheartened while speaking about the crowd during his post-match press conference. When asked for his thoughts on the crowd chanting Rune's name in the second set, the Serb claimed he thought they were booing him and added that it wasn't an "ideal atmosphere" for him.

The chants of 'Ruuuuuune' sounded like long-drawn boos to many observers, and Novak Djokovic felt the same way.

"I didn't know what they were chanting honestly," the World No. 1 said. "I thought they were booing. I don't know, yeah, it was not ideal atmosphere for me to tell you that. But I've been in these particular atmospheres before, so I knew how to handle it."

Novak in pressDisappointed. "I thought they were booing" pic.twitter.com/mOjjvOtGhS

— C Kristjánsdóttir ●🐊 (@CristinaNcl) September 1, 2021

When asked for his thoughts on how the crowd could impact him in his next matches, Novak Djokovic acknowledged that the Arthur Ashe Stadium is the "loudest and most entertaining" tennis court out there.

"It's the largest stadium in sport," he said. "Definitely the loudest and the most entertaining stadium we have in our sport."

Djokovic went on to admit that he wished he enjoyed more crowd support, before highlighting how he shifted his focus to himself and his game in order to stay in the moment.

"Yeah, I mean, obviously you always wish to have crowd behind you, but it's not always possible," Djokovic said. "That's all I can say. I mean, I don't know. I've been focusing on myself and what I need to do. I guess I have to just see how it feels on the court and try to keep it together. That's all I can do."

Holger Rune definitely deserved my respect, and the respect of a lot of people: Novak Djokovic

Holger Rune winces in pain during his match against Novak Djokovic

Holger Rune put his heart and soul into the second set of the match. But while it gave him the set, it cost him the rest of the match as the teenager found himself dealing with severe cramps.

Rune couldn't move freely in the third and fourth sets, which were all but a formality for Djokovic. But Rune's courage was refreshing to see; the Dane refused to concede the match and bravely carried on till the last point.

Novak Djokovic, on his part, pointed out that he too suffered from such physical collapses in the early part of his career. He revealed that he had a chat with Rune after the match and noted that the teenager was "really sad".

"I did struggle with injuries and retirements early in my career," Novak Djokovic said. "That's why I can relate to Holger, what he's going through. We just had a little chat in the locker room. It's an emotional moment for him. It's not easy to see that. He's really sad. I understand that. I've been through that."

THE CROWD IS ON THEIR FEETHolger Rune wins the second set over Novak Djokovic in a tiebreak. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/x2s9hu1GEP

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2021

Djokovic went on to marvel at Rune's resilience and tenacity, lauding the teenager for completing the match despite being under immense pain.

"I just told him that he handled himself extremely well," Djokovic added. "He didn't want to stop. I thought he's going to stop the end of the third. He just kept going with dignity, finished off the match. He deserved definitely my respect, the respect of a lot of people. He's still very, very young, 18 years old. He's got plenty of time ahead of him. I'm sure we're going to see a lot of him in the future."