Adversity is his fuel. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic said his altercation with British fans was due to their “lack of respect” following Serbia’s Davis Cup quarter-final victory over Great Britain on Thursday. The world number 1 qualified Serbia for the Davis Cup semi-finals against Italy, easily beating Cameron Norrie (18th) 6-4, 6-4 in the second singles against Great Britain, but he then asked a group of British supporters to “learn how to behave”.
Djokovic lost patience when some fans tried to drown out his victory speech with drums, to which the superstar said he had to respond. “Throughout the match there was a lack of respect, but that’s something I have to expect in the Davis Cup,” the 36-year-old responded to the press. According to him, it is “normal that supporters sometimes go beyond the limits. In the heat of the moment, we sometimes also react and show that we do not tolerate this kind of behavior. » “They can do what they want, but I will answer that,” he said.
Drum to cover his words
During the match, Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam winner, was annoyed by the same fans who were bothering him and put his hand to his ear after winning a point in the second set. His blood boiled when, afterwards, they did not let him express himself freely after his victory.
“I was trying to speak and they deliberately started drumming to stop me,” he said. They tried to bother me the whole match, so we had a little chat at the end. » Djokovic’s victory puts him on the trajectory of a duel against the Italian Jannik Sinnerwhom he beat on Sunday at the ATP Masters to win his seventh title of the season.