'Sometimes I would face them': Novak Djokovic braces for loud Roland Garros crowd ahead of Corentin Moutet showdown

Novak Djokovic is preparing for his second-round match at Roland Garros against local favorite Corentin Moutet, a player known for his unique style and for engaging the crowd. The 24-time Grand Slam champion opened up about how he deals with "interruptions" ahead of a match where the audience is sure to play a significant role.

Facing a French player on Philippe Chatrier is never easy. And if there's anyone who knows about it, it's Djokovic, who has dealt with entirely hostile crowds in the past. 

"Anywhere you go, and you play the local player coming from that country where the slam is played, they're going to have the crowd on their side. It's nothing strange about it. It's expected," Djokovic said.

"But it is true that here in France and in Paris, comparing to other slams, the people are louder and more passionate and just give more support, louder support, more energy to their player, which for some players can be annoying.”

A day earlier, Jakub Mensik had to learn to deal with the passionate French crowd on Court 14 when he faced local player Alexandre Muller. The Czech had a provocative response to the jeers, which later went viral on social media. "Nole" himself has previously responded to crowd provocations when they have been against him.

"It's not the kind of ideal environment you want to be playing in, but you have to be ready for it,” Djokovic added in the news conference. “Look, I played in a lot of hostile environments in my career, and it's not something I haven't experienced before.”

"I'm not saying that it's going to be hostile for me or not. I mean, I just expect, if I play a French player in Roland Garros, I would expect that most of the people would cheer the French player. It's nothing personal to me at all. But on the court when you're there, when certain things that happen that cross the line, I do understand the players who protect their space and their integrity.”

"You have hecklers. I don't think they are the majority. On the contrary, there are always a few people here and there sometimes that would cross the line,” he added. "It happened to me quite a few times actually in my career. And then sometimes I would just ignore, but you know, sometimes I would face them. That's it. Then we would be crossing each other back and forth."