'There was silence when Novak Djokovic hit a winner and...', says expert

• Tennis News
• Novak Djokovic

Despite his numerous and incredible successes on the Tour, world number one Novak Djokovic has never enjoyed the same public appreciation as that reserved for his arch rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both absent at the next US Open in New York.

A situation that has often made the Serbian nervous, helping to keep him away from the involvement of the crowd.

Croft opens up on Novak Djokovic

Former British tennis player Annabel Croft recently gave her thoughts on the lack of support Novak Djokovic gets from crowds during many of his matches.

According to Croft, it is "painful to watch" the Serb having to battle hostile crowds every time he steps out on the court. "It has been painful to watch at times and I remember being at the US Open in 2015 when Novak was playing Federer and the entire crowd seemed to be against him," Croft told Tennis365.

"There was silence when he hit a winner and cheers when he missed and the courage he showed to win that match was remarkable. I was court-side and couldn’t believe that there were 20,000 people baying for his blood and hoping he would lose.

It is cruel in many ways," she added. Besides, millions of fans worldwide will enjoy the US Open from the comforts of their home. If you are one of them, here’s the complete guide to the TV schedule for the upcoming US Open 2021.

For local fans, ESPN will exclusively cover the US Open for a sixth consecutive year. Also, it would provide live streaming of all courts on ESPN3, ESPN+, and the ESPN App. Fans can catch previews and off-court programming of the event on the Tennis Channel.

Furthermore, Eurosport will exclusively broadcast the major tournament in 52 countries in continental Europe. In Japan, WOWOW has solely covered the US Open since 1992 and will continue to in 2021. Additionally, fans in the United Kingdom and Ireland can watch live matches on Prime Video, whereas Star India will cover the event in the Indian subcontinent.

For live streaming, Indian fans can tune into Star India’s Hotstar App. Unsurprisingly, the top seeds of their respective circuits, Novak Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty are most favorable to win. Considering their consistent performances in major tournaments, the US Open will be no different.

However, players such as Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, defending champion Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka could deny the top seeds. Only time will tell now who will lift the US Open trophy this year.