Cameron Norrie’s war of words with Novak Djokovic has bled into Roland-Garros, with the British player saying the world No.3 “never apologised” for being late to their fiery clash in Rome.
In the lead up to the Paris grand slam, Djokovic defeated Norrie in their round of 16 Italian Open meeting in straight sets, with the Serbian star accusing the Brit of not playing in the spirit of the game.
Djokovic was said to be fuming after he was hit on the leg by a Norrie smash and the Briton’s constant celebrating.
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The two exchanged a tense handshake at the conclusion of the match, with Djokovic calling Norrie’s actions “not fair play” in the post-match press conference
“From the very beginning, he was doing all the things that were allowed,” Djokovic said.
“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.
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“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.”
However, Norrie fired back at Djokovic in Paris, weeks after the event, reigniting the pair’s feud while pointing the finger at the tennis great for manipulating the rules to his advantage.
“He wanted some more time on the physio bed and the match was scheduled for 11am,” said Norrie.
“And we walked out maybe 11.12am, 11.13am. I don’t think he saw any problem with that.
“He never said anything to me. And he never apologised.
“I asked: ‘Was that OK to do that?’. They [the officials] said: ‘Yeah, it is within the rules’. After 15 minutes, he gets defaulted. I said: ‘OK’, and I continued warming up.
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“I’ve never seen that before from any player. Regardless if it’s a tennis match or not, you turn up on time for whatever it is.
“I wanted to win, it was one of those matches where he’s one of the best players in the world and I wanted to play my best and compete as hard as I could.
“I didn’t think I was in his face at all. I think, if anyone knows me, I’m pretty vocal in some matches. It was a regular tennis match for me.
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“I was feeling my hip a little bit and I took the medical time-out. It is within the rules. And for him also it’s in the rules to start the match on his time – being late.”
On the smash that connected with Djokovic, Norrie added: “I apologised straight away and I didn’t see him. I looked up and hit the ball down low.
“I didn’t see him turn and concede the point.”
Norrie advanced to the second round after a marathon win over local hope Benoit Paire in five sets, while Djokovic easily accounted for American Aleksandar Kovacevic.
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