“I’ve never seen that before from any player… And he never apologised” – Norrie hits back at Djokovic criticism

Speaking after his first round win in Paris, Norrie said Djokovic was late for their Rome match by more than 10 minutes and never apologised for the same

Novak Djokovic and Cameron Norrie at 2023 Italian Open Image Credit: AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

May 31, 2023

Britain’s Cameron Norrie has hit back at Novak Djokovic after the Serb called him out for poor sportsmanship following their match at the Rome Masters earlier this month.

Djokovic defeated Norrie in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 during which Norrie hit an overhead directly at the Serb which irked the 22-time Grand Slam champion. Following the match, Djokovic called out Norrie for being very vocal during the match and taking a medical time out, which he equated to a lack of respect.

“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,” Djokovic had said in Rome.

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.
Cameron Norrie

Speaking after his first-round win in Paris, Norrie turned the tables on the Serb, saying Djokovic was late for that Rome match by more than 10 minutes because he was getting treated by the physio and failed to apologise for the same.

“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. 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. I was feeling my hip a little bit and I took the medical time-out. It is within the rules,” Norrie said of Djokovic’s fair play comments.

“And for him also it’s in the rules to start the match on his time – being late. He wanted some more time on the physio bed and the match was scheduled for 11am,” the Brit revealed “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 said: ‘Yeah, it is within the rules.’ After 15 minutes, he gets defaulted. I said: ‘OK,’ and I continued warming up. 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.”

Norrie and Djokovic both won their opening two matches this week at Roland-Garros and play their respective third-round matches on Friday.

Djokovic admits nerves following Roland-Garros win

Djokovic spoke candidly after his win over Fucsovics in the night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier about the fact that he still gets nervous on the match court, despite his vast wealth of success and experience.

“I mean, if I’m not nervous on the court, there is two reasons, or I’m very loose and comfortable and confident, or I don’t care much about playing or winning”, said the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

“Nervousness is part of my job, is part of what I do. Sometimes I express it; sometimes I internalize it. You know, at times, you know, I chat with myself. At times I chat with my team.

“Important thing is that whatever happens, that you manage to kind of regroup and go ahead in the right direction.”