Yunchaokete Bu was not necessarily the crowd favourite against Novak Djokovic in Beijing, despite being a Chinese player.
Bu won the first set against Djokovic, and found himself just a tie-break away from becoming the first ever player to beat the Serbian at the China Open.
However, it was not to be for the Chinese wildcard, with Djokovic beating Bu 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 to extend his winning streak at the China Open to 31 matches.
Djokovic received a lot of support from the crowd in Beijing during this match, and Bu has revealed how he thought about the predominantly Chinese crowd cheering more for his opponent.
Yunchaokete Bu has ‘nothing to complain’ about after China Open crowd cheer for Novak Djokovic
Bu was asked about the crowd in his post-match press conference and whether it impacted his performance. The world number 104 responded by claiming that it did not, with Bu insisting that Djokovic deserves this support for everything he has contributed to the sport, calling him the best player in history.
“Of course he has committed so much to this industry, he has done so much for this industry, put tennis on a higher level,” answered Bu. “The number of Grand Slams he has won, he is number one in history. Of course he deserves respect.
“This is very common what happened tonight. It’s not only for the Chinese player. When he plays in the U.S. or Europe, it’s probably the same. He deserves all the credit. I was mentally prepared for the atmosphere today. It wasn’t affecting me at all. I was really into the match. I thought he deserved this. Nothing to complain on my side.”
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Bu was also asked more specifically about how the match played out, as he admitted he felt ’empty’ after spending nearly three hours on court against the 39-year-old, as he praised Djokovic’s return in particular.
“I don’t know. Right now I just feel I’m empty,” said Bu. “I don’t know what he doing. He just doing so well. I feel after like two hours, actually I’m tired. I’m little bit tired. I feel my level, it drop a bit. I feel it’s nothing for him. He just start. He just get warm. The return is unreal. Like my serve doesn’t work anymore. Everything is coming back so deep. I have no chance.
“Then I just feel like a lot of pressure because the ball is always coming back. I have to do more, then more and more, then sometimes force it. In the end I make the double-fault. I feel the court too small for me. He’s everywhere, he doesn’t miss, he doesn’t give the free point. I mean, that’s how he play. Today I am accept. Just congrats to him.”
Bu continued to speak about how exhausted he felt, admitting he was shocked at how Djokovic was able to maintain his energy, but was also really pleased to have had the opportunity to play against the 24-time Grand Slam champion for the first time, as he called him the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T) once again.
“To be honest, I’m pretty empty. I’m feeling empty now,” added Bu. “I am shocked by him. This is a 40-year-old (39) man I’m facing. In more than two hours, there’s no decline in his energy. I’m a 24-year-old, but I’m exhausted. My level dropped, but he was just starting. He was just warming up. I am speechless.
“I really value this opportunity because I do not have that many opportunities to face him. I’ve been playing for three years on the tour, and that was my first time playing with Djokovic.
“I was fighting point by point. Overall I think it was a really high-quality match. This is his tennis, his style, why he is the G.O.A.T., why he was able to defeat [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal. It all makes sense.
Despite losing to Djokovic in three sets, Bu reaching the second round of the China Open means that he will now return back to the top 100.
Djokovic will look to continue his unbeaten record in Beijing when he faces either Alexander Zverev or Juncheng Shang in the China Open semi-finals.
