Novak Djokovic explains reasons he lashed out at British Davis Cup fans
Novak Djokovic explained that he had to have a “chat” with the British fans in Malaga after they interrupted his match and his on-court interview at the Davis Cup. The world No 1 sent Serbia through to the semi-final when he defeated Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-4 in the second singles rubber of their tie against Britain. And he told some of the spectators to “shut up and be quiet” after securing the victory.
Djokovic capped off a dominant performance for Serbia in their Davis Cup quarter-final against Britain. After Miomir Kecmanovic downed Jack Draper 7-6(2) 7-6(8), the 24-time Major winner came out and beat Norrie to clinch the tie for his nation 2-0, with neither man even facing a break point.
While it was another sublime performance for the world No 1, he still ran into some difficulty in the form of the British fans. Despite playing in Malaga, team GB had plenty of home support in the arena. But Djokovic wasn’t happy when some of the fans interrupted him, with one shouting between his first and second serves.
When the tie was over, some spectators played their drums to drown out Djokovic’s on-court interview and he lashed out. “Learn how to respect players, learn how to respect people, you shut up, you be quiet,” he fumed. The 36-year-old has since explained why he hit out, admitting that the “disrespect” continued throughout the evening.
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Asked whether he was only frustrated with the post-match antics or whether there were other interruptions that got to him, Djokovic replied: “Well, the entire match pretty much. Disrespect, but again, that’s something I’m kind of have to be prepared for. You know, in the Davis Cup, it’s normal that sometimes fans step over the line, but, you know, in the heat of the moment, you react too, and you, in a way, how can I say, show that you don’t allow this kind of behaviour.”
Addressing the issues during his interview, he added: “They can do whatever they want, but I’m going to respond to that. That’s what happened. And in the end, for whoever was there, you saw, I was trying to talk and they were purposely starting to play the drums so that I don’t talk and they were trying to annoy me the entire match. So, yeah, we had a little bit of a chat in the end.”
However, Britain’s team captain Leon Smith disagreed with Djokovic as he admitted it just added to the atmosphere of the Davis Cup. “I mean, again, I can only go on the ties we have had for, you know, as long as I have been involved,” he said when quizzed over whether the fans should have shown more respect.
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“The best ones are the noisy ones. You know, when it’s flat and dead and no one’s clapping, no music, it’s pretty boring. That’s one of the things that’s good about Davis Cup and the team competition that actually you’re kind of meant to make noise.
“And there is always, whether there is a bit that goes over, comments, I could hear a couple. I don’t think it’s that bad. You know, so no, I would hate to see it quietening down, because there’s enough quiet tennis as it is. If anything, that atmosphere is good for us.”
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