Unfair Play: Novak Djokovic Struck With an Overhead from Cameron Norrie

Unfair Play: Novak Djokovic Struck With an Overhead from Cameron Norrie

Unfair Play: Novak Djokovic Struck With an Overhead from Cameron Norrie

The image is grabbed from a video.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner’s enraged gaze made it apparent how angry he was with his opponent. And it wasn’t just because Djokovic turned around and gave up a point early in the second set of the Serb’s 6-3, 6-4 victory on Tuesday, allowing Cameron Norrie to smack him in the left calf with an overhead smash.

After making it to the quarterfinals of the Italian Open for the 17th consecutive year, Djokovic said that Norrie also displayed other instances of poor sportsmanship. Djokovic also objected to his British opponent’s decision to take a medical break shortly before he served out the game.

When questioned about the incident and his enraged gaze toward Norrie, Djokovic remarked:

“I did watch the replay when he hit me. Maybe you could say he didn’t hit me deliberately. It was not so much about that, maybe. From the very beginning, he did all the things that were allowed. He’s allowed to take a medical timeout. He’s allowed to hit a player. He’s allowed to say ‘Come on’ in the face more or less every single point from the first game.” 

“Those are the things that we players know in the locker room it’s not fair play; it’s not how we treat each other.” “He brought the fire, and I responded to that. I won’t allow someone to behave like this by just bending my head. I’m going to respond to that.”

Against the 13th-seeded Norrie, who was not made available for comment, Djokovic put on his finest clay-court performance of the year, clearly driven by Norrie’s actions.

Djokovic had his complete game in sync as he went for his sixth victory on the red clay of the Foro Italico, having struggled at times in the earlier stages and his last two clay-court competitions.

“I actually finished my warmup 10 minutes before I went on the court. So I was rushing a bit with everything, but we couldn’t (warmup) earlier because of the rain.” “So I’m just glad to overcome today’s challenge in straight sets and move on.”

Novak Djokovic

Djokovic, who took three weeks off before this event because of a persistent problem with his surgically repaired right elbow, was spotted in the trainer’s room before the match.

“Every day is something.” without specifying what was bothering him. But thankfully, I was able to play and finish the match, so hopefully, tomorrow, it will feel a bit better.”

Novak Djokovic

Djokovic earned two more victories (21-19) and made 14 fewer unforced mistakes overall (compared to Norrie’s 29).

Earlier this year, Norrie defeated Carlos Alcaraz to win a championship on clay in Rio de Janeiro. After this event, Alcaraz will replace Djokovic as the No. 1 player.

The French Open, which begins in 12 days, will consequently see Alcaraz seeded as the No. 1 player and Djokovic as the No. 2. The 20-year-old Dane won the Paris Masters final in November, and Djokovic will now play seventh-seeded Holger Rune in a replay of that match. 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 was how Rune defeated Alexei Popyrin, an Australian qualifier.

“Really fit physically, great defense, but also a great counter-puncher. He can hurt you from both the forehand and backhand sides. Really solid serve. Aggressive returns. Just an all-around player on all surfaces.”

“Rune reached the final of the Monte Carlo Masters last month. It’s going to be a very physical match.”

Novak Djokovic

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