Cameron Norrie has hit back at Novak Djokovic’s accusations of poor sportsmanship.
The pair had an unexpectedly fiery clash in Rome two weeks ago, with the main flashpoint coming when Norrie hit Djokovic on the ankle with a smash after the Serbian had turned away to walk back to the baseline.
In his press conference afterwards, Djokovic criticised Norrie not just for that moment but for what he perceived as the British number one celebrating in his face after winning points, as well as a medical timeout he took prior to the final game of the match.
Djokovic, who won the contest comfortably, said: “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.”
Norrie did not see what the fuss was about, saying of the smash: “I apologised straightaway 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 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.”
The last comment was a pointed reference to the fact Djokovic turned up more than 10 minutes late for the match after spending time in the treatment room.
“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 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.”
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Djokovic’s complaints have sparked a debate in tennis about where the line is drawn between firing yourself up and disrespect towards your opponent, with Marton Fucsovics also complaining about Sebastian Baez celebrating the Hungarian’s mistakes during a match in Lyon last week.
“If you’re doing it right in front of someone’s face and looking at them and trying to taunt them, that’s not great,” said Norrie.
“I was not doing that, Baez was not doing that, and I think it’s part of the game. I love seeing players compete and really get up for the matches and really wanting to win. You see it in all sports.
“For me, I’m competing as hard as I can. I’m not trying to do it to distract the other guy or anything. This is the only time that anyone’s had an issue with it.”
Norrie could have had reason to complain about a very partisan crowd for his dramatic five-set win over Benoit Paire but the 27-year-old enjoyed the atmosphere and can expect more of the same in the second round on Wednesday when he takes on another Frenchman, Lucas Pouille.
The 29-year-old was ranked in the top 10 in 2018 but an elbow injury the following year began a downward spiral, with Pouille battling depression and turning to alcohol.
He did not play any matches in the second half of last year but returned to the circuit in January and came through qualifying here before winning his first grand slam match since 2019.
Pouille has been roared on by the French crowd and led them in a rendition of the Marseillaise on court following his first-round win.
“It’s really special,” said Pouille, who beat Norrie at Roland Garros back in 2018.
“That’s why also I think I took another 30 minutes on court to sign all the autographs, take all the pictures, because we finished pretty late and the court was still packed, and they were cheering me from the first point to the last one. The energy was just incredible. It was so many good emotions.”
Djokovic recovers from slow start to move past Michelsen on Shanghai return
Novak Djokovic marked his Shanghai Masters return with a hard-fought straight-sets win over Alex Michelsen.
The four-time champion, who is appearing in this event for the first time since 2019, required two tie-breaks before prevailing 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (11-9) in just under two hours.
Djokovic, still donning a protective sleeve over his right knee, made a slow start in only his second match since losing to Alexei Popyrin in the US Open third round, winning just four points in the first three games as he fell 4-1 behind.
However, the 24-time major winner broke back in the seventh game before dominating the tie-break for first blood.
Roles were reversed in the second set as Michelsen cancelled out an earlier break in game seven.
However, the American squandered two set points to level and was eventually punished by Djokovic, who will play either 28th seed Flavio Cobolli or three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in the next round.
Data Debrief: Djokovic continues American dominance
Djokovic was given an early scare, but his experience eventually showed as he came through.
Including team events, the Serb has now won his last 33 ATP-level matches against American opponents, with his last such defeat coming against Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in 2016.
The 24-time major winner also demonstrated his determination when the pressure intensified, and he has now come through 12 of his 16 tie-breaks played this season.
Gauff fights back to beat Badosa in China Open semi-finals
Coco Gauff recovered from a set and a break down to reach the China Open final with a 4-6 6-4 6-2 victory over Paula Badosa on Saturday.
Having given up an early break in the opener, Gauff got one of her own by converting her eighth break point in a mammoth eighth game featuring 10 deuces, only for Badosa to hit back immediately to go a set up.
Gauff lost serve immediately in the second set to go on the back foot, only to level the match with back-to-back breaks, the second of them to love.
The decider began with a series of breaks, Gauff taking two of them as the momentum swung her way, then she protected her lead all the way to reach her first final since winning January's Auckland Open.
The 20-year-old is the youngest player to reach the women's singles final at the China Open since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.
She has fought from a set down to win in each of her last three matches, the first time she has done so in her career. She is the first player to do so in WTA-1000 events since Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells 2022.
Data Debrief: Gauff brings up century
Saturday's match was Gauff's 100th at WTA 1000-level events, and her 67th such victory.
Among American players, only Serena Williams (87), Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula (70) have bettered her 67 wins through their first 100 matches at such events.
Alcaraz beats home favourite Shang in Shanghai opener
Carlos Alcaraz began his Shanghai Open campaign with a straight-sets win over China's Shang Juncheng, bringing up his 10th straight victory.
Just three days on from his epic victory over Jannik Sinner in the China Open final, Alcaraz recorded a 6-2 6-2 win over Shang inside one hour and 17 minutes.
The four-time grand slam winner wasted no time by breaking in the very first game of the encounter, then repeated the trick six games later to take the opener, avoiding any pressure as he won 82% of his first-serve points.
Alcaraz produced the shot of the match early in the second set, producing a brilliant backhand flick to salvage a point while backtracking from the net.
Back-to-back breaks midway through the second set sealed Alcaraz's 10th straight victory, after which he hailed the performance of his 19-year-old opponent.
"I'm not used to playing against players younger than me," Alcaraz said. "He has been playing good tennis lately, winning his first ATP title [in Chengdu], so I'm pretty sure he's going to climb the rankings.
"At the net he told me that it's a pleasure share the court with you. So these kinds of things that I hear from younger players, it's great."
Data Debrief: Double figures for Alcaraz
Alcaraz's victory was his 10th in succession since he suffered a shock second-round defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open in August.
He will face another Chinese player in the next round, taking on world number 560 Wu Yibing.
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