Novak Djokovic accused Cameron Norrie of ‘lacking fair play’ after a tempestuous clash at the Italian Open.
Djokovic, who was recently usurped as world number one by Carlos Alcaraz, booked his place in the last eight in Rome, beating Norrie in straight sets, 6-3 6-4. But there was plenty of drama on the court with the Serb taking umbrage at some of his opponent’s tactics throughout the match.
Djokovic came out in fine form, quickly taking the first set and going up a break in the second. However, Norrie immediately broke back, where the major flashpoint of the match occurred.
The 35-year-old had appeared to surrender the point, turning his back to the net as Norrie prepared to smash a winner. The British number one didn’t notice that in time however, smashing the winner off the back of Djokvic’s legs.
The exchange earned a frosty glare from Djokovic and a hostile response from the capacity crowd in Rome. That moment proved to only be a bump in the road for the defending champion, who wrapped up the match, but only after Norrie called for a medical timeout before Djokovic served it out.
It was the latest clear sign that Djokovic, aiming for a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros later this month, is approaching his best form. Going into the tournament he had been struggling with an injury, but looks fighting fit less than two weeks out from the start of the French Open.
Despite his victory, Djokovic didn’t cut a necessarily content figure in his post-match media commitments, pointing to a number of grievances he had with Norrie’s conduct. “I watched the replay when he hit me. Yeah, maybe you could say he didn’t hit me deliberately. I don’t know if he saw me. I mean, peripherally you can always see where the player is on the court.
“The ball was super slow and super close to the net.I just turned around because the point was over for me.”
He added: “It was maybe a combination of things, from the very beginning he was doing things that were allowed. He’s allowed to take a medical timeout, he’s allowed to hit a player. He’s allowed to shout ‘Come on’ in the face on more or less every single point…
“It’s not fair play, it’s not how we treat other. But it is allowed. I got along with Cameron really well since he’s been on tour. He’s a very nice guy off the court so I don’t understand this kind of attitude, to be honest. But it is what it is.
“He brought the fire, and I responded. I’m not going to allow someone behaving like that to bend my head. I’m going to respond.”
Djokovic will take on Danish youngster Holger Rune in the quarter finals, after beating Alexei Popyrin. “I can’t wait, honestly, to play the No. 1 in the world,” Rune said.
“It’s going to be a great experience, even though I’ve already played him twice. The last match was insane, the biggest win of my career.”
