Novak Djokovic fumes ‘shut up and be quiet’ to British fans after Davis Cup win
Novak Djokovic destroyed Cam Norrie to knock Great Britain out of the Davis Cup on Thursday night – and then angrily told British fans to “shut up” and “learn how to respect people”.
Jack Draper lost two tiebreaks to Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening rubber in Malaga. And that left British No.1 Norrie needing to complete mission impossible and beat the world No.1 to keep the quarter-final tie alive.
But the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who won a record seventh Nitto ATP Finals title on Sunday, continued his recent unbeatable form by winning 6-4 6-4 to set up a semi-final with Italy.
Djokovic had won his three previous matches with Norrie, including the 2022 Wimbledon semi-final and the May meeting in Rome when the Serb accused the Brit of lacking “fair play” when he smashed a ball at him at the net.
This time the Serbian star was unhappy with the 5,000 vocal British fans in the Palacio de Deportes Martin Carpena as he was heckled between his serves.
And he stared into the crowd and put his hand to his ears after taking his first set point with a forehand volley – and again looked at the British contingent after sealing the win with his eighth ace.
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When the British supporters’ band started up when he started his courtside interview, the Australian, French and US Open champion snapped: “Learn how to respect players, learn how to respect people, you shut up, you be quiet.”
Djokovic has not lost a Davis Cup singles match for 12 years and 21 matches and set a new Serbian record of 44 wins in the competition. A British team without the injured Andy Murray and Dan Evans – who was in the crowd – were the only quarter-finalist not to win a singles match this week and take their tie to the decisive doubles. Neither Draper nor Norrie even got a break point on Thursday.
World No.55 Kecmanovic played nervelessly in the two tiebreaks to beat world No.60 Draper 7-6 7-6 in just over two hours. Draper, who served two double faults in the crucial first tiebreak, said: “There was obviously a lot of pressure on the match. There’s nerves. Second Davis Cup tie. It’s not often physical. It’s more mental.
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“It’s difficult knowing that Cam has to go and play Djokovic after, and that’s kind of seemingly a must-win match for me. Gave myself chances. I think I got beaten by a better player today.”
Great Britain will now play in February’s qualifiers unless they are handed a wildcard to next year’s group stages. And Leon Smith, who has been in charge since 2010, must decide if he wants to continue after GB finished third in their group in Glasgow last year.
“It’s up to him if he wants to step down or not, but I’d be very happy if he stayed on because he’s a great captain and a good guy,” said Draper.
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