Novak Djokovic offers olive branch to Centre Court crowd after more Wimbledon boos

Novak Djokovic was booed on Centre Court while performing his new violin celebration after beating Lorenzo Musetti in Friday's Wimbledon semi-finals. But the Serb is seemingly keen to avoid his relationship with the Grand Slam's fans deteriorating completely.

Djokovic has been at the centre of a row since his last-16 win over Holger Rune, in which he took chants of the Dane's surname as a sign of disrespect.

"I know they were cheering for Rune but that is also an excuse to boo," Djokovic said on Monday. "I have been on the tour for more than 20 years. Trust me, I know all the tricks."

Signs of friction between the 24-time Grand Slam champion and the Wimbledon crowd popped back up on Friday. After beating Musetti in straight sets to reach yet another final at SW19, Djokovic celebrated by once again playing his tennis racket like a violin in a tribute to his young daughter.

The gesture was greeted with more boos, perplexing BBC commentator John McEnroe. Djokovic still kept it classy in his post-match interview by maintining that Centre Court is the most important tennis arena on the planet.

"Wimbledon has always been a childhood dream for me - to play it, to win it," he explained. "I've said the story many times but I think it's worth repeating it. I was a seven-year-old boy in Serbia watching the bombs fly over my head and dreaming of being on the most important court in the world, which is here - Centre Court at Wimbledon.

"[I was] constructing a Wimbledon trophy out of any material I had in the room and watching myself in the mirror and telling myself I'd be a Wimbledon champion one day."

Djokovic arrived at Wimbledon nursing a knee injury but he has built momentum throughout the tournament. Since battling crowd trouble and defeating Rune in the last 16, the 37-year-old benefitted from a walkover against Alex De Minaur in the quarters and dismantled Musetti in the semis.

Musetti broke serve to put himself firmly in the mix in the first set, but Djokovic broke back immediately to win it 6-4, and the victory was never in doubt from there. The veteran, who has won seven times previously at Wimbledon, came through 6-4 7-6 6-4.

A repeat of last year's men's final is pencilled in for Sunday after Carlos Alcaraz's win over Daniil Medvedev. Alcaraz beat Djokovic 12 months ago and fans will be desperate to see another five-set epic.