A cold morning in Rome became unexpectedly heated after Cameron Norrie slammed an overhead at Novak Djokovic from point-blank range, striking the defending champion in the leg and prompting him to accuse the British world No 13 of unsportsmanlike behaviour afterwards.
The flashpoint in a 6-3, 6-4 victory for Djokovic that was inflected throughout by an undercurrent of hostility came midway through the second set, when the Serb raced forward to pick up a Norrie drop shot, responding with a short dink of his own. Norrie’s reply flicked up off the net tape, and it was all Djokovic could do to reflex the ball tamely up into the air. Giving up on the point with the ball still in the air, the top seed turned and began walking back towards the baseline – only for Norrie to belt a smash into his lower right leg.
Djokovic reeled around to see Norrie briefly raise a hand in apology, but it was evidently not enough for the six-time champion, who directed an icy stare towards his opponent. Was the direct hit an accident? As Djokovic acknowledged afterwards, perhaps. But as he also pointed out, peripheral vision tends to be 20/20 at this level, and it was no surprise when the 22-time grand slam champion eyeballed Norrie again at the next changeover.
“I did watch the replay when he hit me,” said Djokovic after claiming a quarter-final place for the 17th year in a row. “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 positioned 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.
“It was not so much maybe about that, but it was maybe a combination of things. From the very beginning, he was doing 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 ‘C’mon!’ in the face more or less every single point from basically [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. But, again, it’s allowed.”
Norrie’s mood could perhaps be traced back to Djokovic’s late emergence from the treatment room before the match, after reportedly suffering a minor shoulder injury while practising earlier in the morning. The British No 1 certainly cut an unusually animated figure as he battled in vain to retrieve an early break, and at one point Djokovic responded in kind, sending a huge roar of self-encouragement back down the court after holding serve.
Having broken in the penultimate game, Djokovic was made to wait before serving out the contest as Norrie received treatment on a hip injury. While hardly Norrie’s fault, the timing of the delay was unfortunate and the post-match handshake was a frosty affair, Djokovic declining to look at his opponent. He later expressed puzzlement about Norrie’s behaviour.
“I got along with Cameron really well all these years that he’s been on the tour,” said Djokovic, who will be replaced by the vanquished Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings after the tournament.
“Practised with each other. He’s a very nice guy off the court, so I don’t understand this kind of attitude on the court, to be honest.
“But it is what it is. He brought the fire, and I responded to that. I’m not going to allow someone behaving like this, just bending my head. I’m going to respond to that. That’s all it is. What happens on the court, we leave it on the court, and we move on.”
Given that Djokovic next faces Holger Rune, another player not averse to bringing the heat, the 35-year-old may well be moving on to more of the same. Rune, seeded seventh, stunned Djokovic in the final of the Paris Masters last November and said he “couldn’t wait” to face the Serb again.
“I don’t think it’s going to be so different [on clay],” said the 20-year-old Dane after coming through 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.
“Novak is an all-court player. I think he’s tough no matter where you play him. He’s shown that. He’s won Rome six times. It says itself that it’s going to be tough. I have to be at my best.”
As for Norrie, a player rarely drawn into controversy, it will be fascinating to hear his side of the story when he defends his title in Lyon next week.