Rafael Nadal hits out at Serbian fans after losing to Novak Djokovic in ATP Cup

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal was not impressed with Serbian fans at the ATP Cup. The Spanish tennis star accused Serbian fans of being disrespectful during his match against Serbian ace Novak Djokovic. Serbian fans have had a strong presence at the ATP Cup, especially during the knockout stages.

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The Serbian fans misbehaved

During Rafael Nadal's match against World No. 2 Novak Djokovic, Spanish fans were outnumbered by the Serbians at the Ken Rosewell Arena in Sydney. In the first set, Djokovic supporters cheered when Nadal made some errors. The match umpire Mohamed Lahyani even had to ask the crowd to be more respectful towards the players.

When Novak Djokovic earned himself a double break, leading 5-2, Rafael Nadal had an animated exchange with the umpire. He then raised a sarcastic thumb towards the Serbian fans. That, however, did not diminish the support for Novak Djokovic and when the latter won 6-2, 7-6, there were loud celebration scenes on the stand.

During the post-match media interaction, Rafael Nadal was asked about what he thought about the incident involving the fans. A frustrated and upset Rafael Nadal made his displeasure clear. Rafael Nadal said that the crowd had been fantastic every single match, but people from some countries did not understand how tennis worked. Rafael Nadal even claimed that the Serbian fans seem to have confused tennis for football. It led to a rowdy display of celebration every time their player did well.

Explaining that the atmosphere during a tennis match was different from football, Rafael Nadal said that the crowd should show respect for the players on the court. He said that that respect was not there from a small group of people, referencing to the Serbian fans.

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The Spanish tennis ace also announced that he would not play in the doubles match due to tiredness. He said that he had been playing a lot of tennis in the past few days and he has decided to sit out the match. 

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