A voice later called out during Djokovic’s on-court interview, so he responded, “Sorry, mate. I have a wife. We can have a drink, though.” And then Djokovic added: “Maybe you had a few already.”
“I’m happy to have a drink with him, now that the match is over,” Djokovic said. “I think we can reflect nicely on what we have said to each other.”
At his news conference, Djokovic noted that tennis has “the history and tradition that we are proud of and makes our sport different from other sports,” but acknowledged that certain changes would be OK, to add something to a sport that has been “maybe conservative in some things.”
Perhaps music and dancers between sets, the way NBA games offer entertainment during breaks in the action, for example.
But Djokovic would draw the line at yelling out during the course of play.
“From my side, (it wouldn’t be) easy to go from one end to another extreme,” he said, “and just let everybody say whatever they want to say—talk, scream during the point.”
But if they do that now, well, seems clear Djokovic thinks athletes can respond.
