Novak Djokovic conducts booing crowd en route to first defeat since Wimbledon final

Novak Djokovic played conductor in the face of loud boos from the Turin crowd on Tuesday night.

Djokovic is no stranger to getting a hostile response from the crowd and the ATP Tour Finals was no different.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner was facing home favourite Jannik Sinner, so the boos and jeers would have been more than expected.

He responded by conducting the crowd and relishing in the hostility.

It was a blockbuster match, as it usually is between the pair, with Sinner winning against Djokovic for the first time in his career.

The 22-year-old Italian won a three-hour epic 7-5 6-7 (5) 7-6 (2) to hand Djokovic his first loss since the Wimbledon final.

It had been a stretch of 19 straight wins for the Serbian superstar that ended up coming to a shuddering halt.

Sinner grabbed the crucial break in the 11th game, despite finding himself 40-0 down, and then held to love to take the first set.

Djokovic then took the second set to a tie-break and was twice a mini-break down before levelling the match, cupping his ear to the spectators.

World number four Sinner then played a stunning return game, breaking Djokovic to 15 with a punishing forehand to move 4-2 up in the third.

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But with two hours and 40 minutes on the clock, Djokovic finally broke his young opponent for the first time in the match.

At 5-6 Djokovic began conducting the jeering crowd from his seat at the changeover.

The six-time ATP Finals champion had won 30 tie-breaks this season but number 31 proved elusive as Sinner moved 5-0 up before sealing a statement win with a smash.

“I feel I’m a bit more confident in certain moments but I still have to learn many things,” he said on Amazon Prime.

“I think I was really brave and intelligent, especially in the third set. I think we both played really well.

“It means a lot to me. When you win against the world number one who won 24 grand slams it’s up at the top.”

Djokovic paid tribute to Sinner’s fight in his press conference.

He told reporters: “You have to just congratulate him. He just played a fantastic match. That’s what I told him at the net.

“I think in the most important moments, he played his best game and he absolutely deserved to win.”