Novak Djokovic received a mixed reaction from the Wimbledon crowd after his semi-final win over Cameron Norrie. The Serb reached Sunday's final with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over the British number one, but was booed by some of those in the crowd on Centre Court.
Norrie took the first set in the thrilling semi-final but knew he would face a stern test against the defending Wimbledon champion, who has not lost a match at SW19 since 2017. The top seed hit back in style, taking the next three sets to end the British hopeful's dreams of making the final.
Djokovic will now face Australian Nick Kyrgios in the final. It will be his eighth Wimbledon final and his 32nd appearance in a Grand Slam men's singles final, with this semi-final win taking him ahead of Roger Federer's 31 appearances.
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However, the top seed's victory was clouded in controversy as some of the crowd turned on him after he clinched victory. While Norrie was given a rousing reception as he made his way off the court, Djokovic was met with boos.
After hitting his winning shot, the Serb turned to one section of the crowd and glared before making a kissing gesture towards a fan who had been shouting before he took his serve. While there was rapturous applause from most of the entertained crowd, a smattering of boos could also be heard ringing around Centre Court in response.
The mixed reception did not go unnoticed by the BBC's commentary team. Commentator Andrew Castle said: "The crowd are not all delighted with the reaction, but he won't worry about that. The crowd are not sure about this, an interesting reaction."
Meanwhile, John McEnroe added: "He may have motioned to that guy in the corner, kissing him. He didn't need to do it but the guy was getting on him. Don't take away from what this man has accomplished. It's classic Djokovic."
Djokovic was also heavily booed at this year's French Open. It came after he was deported from Australia ahead of the Australian Open after losing a row with authorities over a Covid-19 medical exemption, having previously voiced his opposition to vaccinations.
After beating Norrie, the defending champion said: “I didn’t start off well. He was the better player for the first set. Cameron didn’t have much to lose. He’s playing probably the tournament of his life. I wish him all the best, he’s a great player, I have a lot of respect for him.”
Asked about playing Kyrgios in the final - a mention which also prompted boos from some spectators - he added: "The job is not finished. One thing is for sure there are going to be a lot of fireworks emotionally from both. It's going to be his first Grand Slam final. Obviously he's very excited and he doesn't have much to lose.
"He's playing so freely. He has one of the biggest serves in the game. We haven't played for some time. I've never won a set off him. Hopefully it can be different this time. It's another final for me at Wimbledon so hopefully the experience can work in my favour."
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