"If Novak Djokovic gets pissed and starts yelling, pack your bags" - Thiem, Shapovalov, Kokkinakis on Serb's relationship with crowds

Dominic Thiem, Denis Shapovalov, and Thanasi Kokkinakis recently sat down for a chat where they discussed how Novak Djokovic's relationship with crowds fueled the Serb's fire. Kokkinakis also joked that if Djokovic started yelling back at the crowd, it was game over for his opponent.

The Serb's tendency to get engaged with the crowd is no secret to tennis fans. There have been many occasions where he has yelled back at the crowd and received some extra motivation to bring out his best tennis.

One of the most recent examples came at Wimbledon this year during his fourth-round clash against Holger Rune, where he called the crowd out for unnecessarily booing him during the post-match interview.

Thiem, Shapovalov, and Kokkinakis, all of whom competed in the latest edition of the UTS (Ultimate Tennis Showdown) in Frankfurt, sat down for a conversation at the event. The organizers of the event tend to have three players from their list of competitors sit down for a chat over a meal.

While discussing the Big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic), Kokkinakis joked that if the Serb started getting irked with the crowd, his opponent should 'pack their bags'.

"The worst is if the crowd makes him pissed. If he gets pissed and starts yelling at the crowd. Dude, pack your bags."

Thiem added how the 37-year-old's opponent would beg the crowd to be silent. The retired Austrian played the Serb on 12 occasions, including an Australian Open Final in 2020, where the 10-time Melbourne conqueror won in five sets.

"No but that's so bad. Like, please crowd, please. Please be quiet," Thiem said.

"Don’t piss him off," Shapovalov added.

"Keep him happy. Keep him happy," Kokkinakis added.

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"Novak Djokovic doesn't lose and just drinks juices all day" - Thanasi Kokkinakis jokes about how the Serb is different from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Djokovic - Source: Getty

While highlighting how Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were relatively more welcoming, Thanasi Kokkinakis joked about how Novak Djokovic never lost and just drank his juices.

"Federer was like really welcoming, especially like when you're younger. Same as Rafa. But then Novak was like, F**k this guy doesn't lose and just drinks juices all day."

Shapovalov then reminisced about their 2019 Paris Masters final. He said that he heard rumors that the Serb was unwell and drinking juices and thought he had the chance to pull off an upset.

"Dude, I remember like Paris, the year I made final, I played him in the final, and I was thinking like 'Oh man' because I heard rumors that he's been sick all week, you know, and he was like, drinking his juices, like you said, he's drinking stuff all the time."

"I'm like, dude, I've got him. I'm playing the best tennis of my life. Like, the guy is not feeling good. He's not 100%. Like you said, this is my chance. This is it."

However, the Canadian was defeated by the 24-time Major champion 3-6, 4-6.

"No chance. No chance. The guy was toying with me."

Shapovalov has never won against Djokovic and has a 0-8 record against the Serbian legend. Kokkinakis has a 0-2 record against Djokovic. Dominic Thiem had an impressive 5-7 record against the former World No. 1, having won three of his matches in their last five meetings.