Novak Djokovic’s outburst at a member of the crowd attending his Monte-Carlo Masters semifinal loss against Casper Ruud has irked fans.

Djokovic, who is yet to win a title in three attempts so far this season, cut a frustrated figure on more than one occasion during his duel with the Norwegian in Monte-Carlo. At one point during the match, the Serb overhit a forehand, which landed out. As a result, the point went to Ruud.

However, a visibly incensed Djokovic turned towards the crowd behind him and told a member of the audience:

“Shut the f*** up!”

While loyal Djokovic fans stood behind the Serb despite his angry outburst, others compared his actions to those of Holger Rune. The Dane received a code violation for telling the crowd to quiet down during his quarterfinal loss against Jannik Sinner. According to some fans, Djokovic’s actions were far worse than Rune’s.

“Djokovic has just turned round to the crowd and shouted and told a spectator to ‘shut the f*** up’ and Lahyani hasn’t said a word to him.No Code Violation, nothing. How is that not worse than what @holgerrune2003 got the CV (code violation) for yesterday,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“Rune gets a code violation for a hand gesture (that was not obscene) and Djokovic isn’t penalized for that,” another fan chimed in.

Another set of fans expressed shock at how the Serb got away with his outburst.

“Novak Djokovic just said to a fan, “will you shut the f*** up?!” Followed by more piercing words in Serbian or something. Unbelievable. Then he wonders why people don’t like him lol,” commented one fan.

“How on earth can djokovic SCREAM “Shut the f*** up” at someone in the stands with no warning?!”, wrote another fan.

“He is a disgrace to the sport of tennis,” another fan commented.

Yet another set of fans disapproved of Djokovic’s behavior. One of them suggested that the rules of tennis don’t seem to apply to the Serb. Another of them ridiculed how much he would be fined, if he at all is.

“He has an exemption from the rules,” commented another fan.

“They’ll probably fine him $5K. That’s gotta sting a guy worth $200M,” yet another fan chimed in.

Novak Djokovic confessed to have endured a subpar season so far after losing to Casper Ruud in Monte-Carlo

Djokovic has featured in the United Cup, the Australian Open, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, and the Monte-Carlo Masters so far this season.

In Australia, the Serb’s hopes of a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title were crushed in the semifinals by eventual winner Jannik Sinner. At the BNP Paribas Open, it was 20-year-old lucky loser Luca Nardi who ousted the ATP World No. 1.

Following his latest loss to Ruud in Monte-Carlo, Djokovic admitted that the 2024 season has not been ‘great’.

“Well, I mean, I’m used to really high standard in terms of expectations of the results, so not having a title is, maybe comparing to the last 15 years, not a great season at all,” Djokovic said.