- By Jonathan Jurejko
- ` Sport in Malaga
November 23, 2023, 19:32 GMT
Updated 13 minutes ago
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Djokovic beats Norrie to secure Serbia’s Davis Cup semi-final spot
Novak Djokovic told a group of British fans to “shut up” as they tried to drown out his interview with musical instruments after Serbia knocked GB out of the Davis Cup quarter-finals.
Great Britain lost the tie 2-0 after Cameron Norrie failed to inflict a rare defeat on world number one Djokovic.
“You should learn to show some respect,” Djokovic told fans.
Jack Draper was beaten 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (8-6) by Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening game of the best-of-three match.
This result meant Norrie had to beat 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic for the first time in his career.
But Djokovic showed his class as he claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win and set Serbia up for the semi-final against Italy.
After a confident and drama-free performance, Djokovic had a heated exchange with the few British fans who act as the team’s band before his on-court interview.
He had celebrated at the end of the first set by blowing a kiss to a British fan who was harassing him and also stuck his ear in her direction at the end of the game.
“It’s normal that fans sometimes cross the line and in the heat of the moment you also react and show in a way that you don’t allow such behavior,” Djokovic said.
“You can do whatever you want, but I will respond to it. That happened.”
“I was trying to talk and they deliberately started playing the drums so I wouldn’t talk and they tried to annoy me the whole game.”
Great Britain, which last won the Davis Cup in 2015, will not automatically qualify for the 2024 knockout rounds after their quarter-final exit in Malaga.
Unless they get a wildcard into the Final Eight, Leon Smith’s team will have to follow the same route as this year – a qualifier early next year, followed by the round-robin phase.
Djokovic takes another step towards another trophy
Despite being at the end of his career, the 36-year-old Djokovic’s powers show little sign of abating.
In another extraordinary season, Djokovic won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open titles. His only defeat at a major tournament came in the Wimbledon final against the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
On Sunday, the world number one further underlined his superiority by concluding the tour season with a record-breaking seventh title at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Now he wants to cap a spectacular year even by his standards by adding the Davis Cup to his enviable trophy haul.
Djokovic’s dominance this season – and the gap between him and most of his rivals – was made even clearer by a dominant performance against Norrie.
Norrie was in the top 20 in the world for three seasons in a row, but didn’t have the quality to really hurt Djokovic.
Djokovic took advantage of two of his twelve break point chances, while Norrie was only able to win eight points on the Serb’s serve.
Serbia now face Italy after world number four Jannik Sinner inspired them to victory over the Netherlands on Thursday.
Draper prevailed at crucial moments in the crucial opening game
image source, Getty Images
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Jack Draper, who was consoled by Great Britain captain Leon Smith after his defeat, played only his second game for the nation
Considered one of the ATP Tour’s rising stars, Draper is still a novice when it comes to Davis Cup.
But the 21-year-old left-hander was under pressure and knew he would probably have to win his singles match if Britain wanted to progress – unless Norrie Djokovic inflicted their first Davis Cup singles defeat in 12 years.
Following injuries to Dan Evans and Andy Murray, Draper was the natural choice to open the game against Serbia, although he did not make his playing debut until the round-robin phase in September.
With a thunderous serve and a confident forehand from the baseline, Draper’s strong form in recent weeks sees him ranked 60th in the world.
Injuries ruined his first eight months of the season, but a run of 17 wins from his 21 previous games before the Davis Cup clash left him physically and mentally confident.
There was little to choose between Draper and 55th-ranked Kecmanovic – but it was the Serb who performed better in the crucial moments.
Two double faults from Draper in the first set tiebreak – making the score 2-0 and 5-2 respectively – proved particularly costly.
“It’s hard knowing that Cam has to play Djokovic after that, and that seems like a must-win match for me,” Draper said.
“I support Cam, but it’s definitely a big challenge going out there knowing there’s a lot more pressure on me to win the match.”
“This is the kind of pressure I have to deal with and perform under if I want to become a top player. It’s hard not to win today.”
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