Italian Open: ‘I’m not going to allow anyone…’, Novak Djokovic not happy with Nori’s unsportsmanlike behavior

Novak Djokovic hit out at Cameron Norrie during their last-16 match at the Italian Open on Tuesday after the Briton hit a game-winning smash that hit the Serbian in the calf. It started with Norrie’s relentless ‘come on’ and fist-pumping after every successful point, which clearly irked Djokovic.

The irritation was compounded at the start of the second set when Norrie, who was down a set and a break, hit the Serb an overhead smash on the leg after Djokovic had turned and essentially conceding a point. The Serb appeared unfazed by the smash and gave Norrie a long glare in response as the Briton raised his hand in apology.

Speaking about the incident during the post-match press conference, Djokovic accused Norrie of using tackles that were not in accordance with “fair play”.

“I saw the replays when he hit me. Maybe you can say he didn’t hit me intentionally. I don’t know if he saw me or not. Peripherally you can always see where the player is positioned on the court. The ball was super Slow and very close to the net. I just turned around because the point was over for me,” the 35-year-old was quoted as saying by Eurosport.

There were other instances of poor sportsmanship from Norrie when he asked for a trainer, and took a medical time-out, just as Djokovic was about to serve for the match.

“From the beginning, I don’t know, he was doing all the things that were allowed. He’s allowed to take medical timeouts. He’s allowed to hit a player. He’s allowed to say ‘c.’ Mon` basically More or less tackles every single point from the first game.

“Those are things we players know in the locker room. It’s not fair play, it’s not how we treat each other. But, again, it’s allowed, then?”

Djokovic further said that he was not happy with the way Britain presented itself on the court.

“He brought fire, and I answered him. I’m not going to allow anybody to behave like that, just bowing my head. I’m going to answer him. That’s all. What would have happened on the court Well, we leave it up to the court, and we move on,” he said.

Despite all the drama, Djokovic has his eyes set on the big prize as he cruised into the Italian Open quarter-finals for the 17th consecutive year with a 6-3 6-4 win over the British No.1. Rome.