"You'll never be loved like Federer or Nadal";"Gives 0 f**ks" - Fans divided over Novak Djokovic dedicating Monte-Carlo 3R win to orchestra

Novak Djokovic dedicated his third-round win over Lorenzo Musetti at the ongoing Monte-Carlo Masters to the orchestra.

The Serb got off to a shaky start in the match as Musetti broke his serve in the first game. With the first set at 4-3 in the Italian's favor, controversy erupted as Djokovic was irked by a line call going Musetti's way. As the ATP World No. 1 argued with the chair umpire, the crowd broke out into a ring of boos directed at the Serb.

At this point, Djokovic imitated an orchestra conductor, taking the negative energy from the crowd and turning it into a positive for himself. When play resumed, the 24-time Grand Slam winner immediately broke Musetti, eventually clinching the first set 7-5.

Following the match's conclusion, Djokovic dedicated his win to the orchestra via a social media post. The Serb captioned the post:

"I dedicate this victory to the orchestra. #rolexmastersmontecarlo"

However, Djokovic's post polarized tennis fans' opinions. One set of fans slammed the Serb for his actions and said that he will never be loved like rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

"And you wonder why you’ll never be loved like Federer or Nadal, 0 class", one fan wrote.

"Disgrace to the sport of tennis. In order to be the goat, you have to win the hearts of people. Djokovic will never be the goat for this reason," another fan commented.

"Who else at the peak of their sport has ever acted in this manner - toward THEIR OWN fan base or anyone else for that matter? What a (clown emoji)," another fan chimed in.

Another set of fans believed that Djokovic's imitation of an orchestra conductor was immature and an embarrassment.

"How is it funny? It is embarrassing," wrote one fan.

"Honestly, this is the spectators' fault. But to retaliate is embarrassing behavior. Recently in the tennis world, both players and spectators have been exposing their embarrassing behavior to the world. That's why Sinner is so highly acclaimed," commented another fan.

"So immature...," another fan wrote.

However, there was yet another set of fans that took the entire incident positively and paid respects to Djokovic.

"Novak has moved from predominantly ignoring the haters to deliberately trying to trigger them as appropriate. I guess that at this stage of his life and career, he is past the point of caring. It must feel very liberating to him. It also makes him more relatable as a person," one fan wrote.

"Novak Djokovic truly gives absolutely zero f**ks and you've got to respect that," another fan commented.

"Meltdown of the goons... incoming!!" another fan chimed in.

"If somebody is doing something wrong to you, you stand your ground" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters

During his post-match press conference, Djokovic laid bare the reason behind his orchestra conductor imitation. According to the World No. 1, he will always react if he feels that he is being unfairly treated.

"It’s not the kind of mentality I have. But if people start to react in a certain way that I don’t think I deserve, you know, I don’t think it’s fair, if I don’t think it’s anyhow explainable, then, you know, I’ll react back. I have grown up with that kind of mentality that if somebody is doing something wrong to you, you stand your ground," Djokovic said (via Tennis Majors).

Djokovic is set to face Alex de Minaur in the fourth round. The pair are level at 1-1 in their head-to-head. However, their last clash in the quarterfinals of the 2024 United Cup went de Minaur's way.