Tennis greats unite as booing ‘disgrace’ overshadows Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open withdrawal

Tennis greats have united in their disapproval of the Australian Open crowd after they booed an injured Novak Djokovic in yet another ugly incident at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic pulled the pin immediately after losing a marathon first set against German Alexander Zverev to leave the packed crowd stunned.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Djokovic booed after shock retirement.

The gasps quickly turned into a chorus of boos as Djokovic went over to gather his things.

And even after waving goodbye to Rod Laver Arena for potentially the final time, the 10-time champion was still booed by the crowd.

The behaviour shocked tennis great turned commentator John McEnroe.

“They can’t be booing them, for God’s sake. Won this 10 times. Unreal,” the American said.

Zverev immediately pleaded with the crowd to show some respect in his on-court interview.

“The very first thing I want to say, is, please, guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,” he said, with his comments met with cheers.

“I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see hopefully a great five-set match, but you’ve got to understand, Novak Djokovic is somebody who has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.

“He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, he has won this tournament with a hamstring tear. If he cannot continue a tennis match, it really means he cannot continue a tennis match.

“So, please be respectful and really, really show some love for Novak as well.”

McEnroe doubled down on his comments shortly after the match.

“He’s won this 10 times - I mean, come on. The guy clearly was, you know, something was up,” he said.

“To do that when he decided he couldn’t go on after what he’s done here, I thought was absolutely ludicrous.

“That was depressing, almost depressing as seeing him end the match and him put his thumbs-up.”

Former Aussie star John Millman was also highly critical.

“Novak getting booed off is a disgrace. Classless,” he tweeted, before adding more on Nine.

“The crowds have been questioned a lot and rightly so. I think it’s a bit of a shambles, some of the behaviour has crossed the line and that one takes the cake for me,” he said.

“This is a guy who has won it 10 times, have some respect. He is one of the greatest of all time, if not the best, definitely the best on this court. Have some respect.”

Australian doubles great Rennae Stubbs also unloaded.

“I don’t care what u think of Djokovic, love him or hate him. If U booed him off the court today, you’re a disgrace. That man has literally left his heart & soul on that court. He’s our greatest champion Melbourne and he’s injured! Think about what you just did. Disgraceful!!” She tweeted.

Crowd behaviour at the Open has come under fire this year, with some drunken, boorish antics including fans yelling out during serves and points.

The court six “party court”, which has its own bar, also proved a major distraction, with a match on a nearby court forced to move during the first set due to constant noise and interruptions.

Danielle Collins was targeted when she was playing against local hope Destanee Aiava and was mocked and jeered, with the American “returning serve” after the win by blowing kisses and gesturing that the crowd could kiss her behind.

She was also booed relentlessly when she took on fellow American Madison Keys in the next round.

Brit Jack Draper complained after his epic five-set win over home hope Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Djokovic also lost his cool with a member of the crowd earlier in the tournament.

The 10-time champion was heckled during his straight-sets win in the third round over fellow Czech Tomas Machac and said after the match that some fans were starting to cross the line.

“If it’s repetitive, it happens for an hour, somebody tells you in the corner things that you don’t want to hear and constant provoking, then of course it comes to the point where you just respond,” Djokovic said.

“So I tried to tolerate, but then at one point I had to respond, and that’s all. That’s all to say about it.”

The tournament has consistently broken daily crowd records, and its total is set to surpass the aggregate record of 1.02 million set last year.

- With AAP