Why everyone finds fault with 'Djoker'

15 September 2015 - 02:13 By Charlie Eccleshare, ©The Daily Telegraph

By beating Roger Federer on Sunday in the US Open final, Novak Djokovic claimed his second title at Flushing Meadows and his 10th grand slam overall. Those successes have been achieved in a variety of ways, but one aspect has remained pretty much constant: Djokovic's opponent has had the crowd on his side.Sunday's victory continued that pattern, with the New York crowd strongly in favour of the Swiss player, just as Wimbledon was two months ago.Just as the French crowd in Roland Garros rooted for Stan Wawrinka in June's French Open final, and as the Australian supporters cheered for Andy Murray in Melbourne in January.But why? Why does this personable champion whose antics have earned him the nickname "Djoker" not feel the love from tennis crowds?The Djokovic prior to his annus mirabilis 2011, when he won three out of the four grand slams, was a different beast.He had a reputation for gamesmanship, flakiness and ill-health . When Djokovic established himself as the world's best player four years ago, much of the suspicion towards him subsided.But it was replaced with respect, not affection. Djokovic's ascent made him less popular, as it came at the expense of the more popular Rafael Nadal, Murray and most damagingly the untouchable Federer.In plenty of other sports, Djokovic's confrontational chest puffed out stance would make him a favourite, but tennis fans are different. They like their champions to be respectful, reverential and polite.His reaction to winning the title on Sunday was to point at himself as if to say, "I'm the man." That may be fine with most fans; not tennis fans...

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