Djokovic sees off Norrie to reach quarter
Novak Djokovic eased into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday after breezing past Cameron Norrie although there was tension with the Briton after the top seed was hit by a smash.
While Djokovic dispatched Norrie 6-3, 6-4, Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev and home hope Jannik Sinner both crashed out in Rome.
Djokovic has reached the last eight in each of his previous 16 appearances in the Italian capital and he did it again, getting past Norrie on centre court to set up a clash with Holger Rune in a tournament which is a key warmup for the French Open.
It will be a rematch of last year's Paris Masters final, when the 20-year-old Dane won his first Masters 1000 title by beating Djokovic in a thrilling match.
"Even though he's really young, I know his game quite well. He's been on the tour now for last few years playing some great tennis, particularly in the last I would say six to eight months," said Djokovic.
"He's in very good form and I look forward to a challenge. I think it's going to be a very physical match."
Djokovic is gunning for a seventh title on clay in Rome and his chances have been made a little easier by the shock elimination of Carlos Alcaraz on Monday.
Alcaraz, who won two consecutive tournaments at Barcelona and Madrid, will take world number one spot from Djokovic on May 22 but it is the 22-time Grand Slam champion who could go into Roland Garros with yet another title under his belt.
Djokovic won the first three games against Norrie and closed out the first set with little fuss, without needing to be at his best.
The 35-year-old then took the second set to 2-1 with a break, but in the next game Norrie broke back while angering Djokovic with a smash which hit him on the back of his left leg.
Norrie had the whole court to put the ball away as Djokovic had given up on the point and was walking back to the service line.
The Briton raised his hand to apologise but at the changeover after Norrie moved to 3-2, Djokovic gave him another long stare as he passed him.
And after Djokovic sealed victory with his second match point he gave Norrie a cursory handshake at the net, while avoiding eye contact and without exchanging a single word with his dispatched opponent.
Djokovic later explained that he had been irritated by Norrie's on-court behaviour since the start of the match, doing "things that we players know in the locker room it's not fair play".
"He's very nice guy off the court, so I don't understand this kind of attitude on the court, to be honest. But it is what it is. He brought the fire, and I responded to that," said Djokovic.
"I'm not going to allow someone behaving like this just bending my head. I'm going to respond to that.
"That's all it is. What happens on the court, we leave it on the court, and we move on."
Third seed Daniil Medvedev came through 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) against Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud dispatched Laslo Djere, and Croatian Borna Coric prevailed in three sets over Fabian Marozsan, the Hungarian outsider who shocked Carlos Alcaraz in the third round.
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in a third-round match which was suspended on Monday due to the rain to set up a meeting with another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti.
Rublev, seeded six, was upset 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3 by the world's 101-ranked player, German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann.
And Italian eighth seed Sinner was sent packing by Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-2.
In the women's draw, Iga Swiatek took her Rome winning streak to 14 matches with a 6-3, 6-4 success over Donna Vekic.
World number one Swiatek will take on Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals after coming through the toughest match of her tournament so far.
Her bid for a third title in as many years has been boosted by seeds two to six all being eliminated.
(责任编辑:关于我们)
- Webb telescope just snapped image of huge black hole gobbling material
- Here’s Jared Kushner ready for a yacht party in Iraq
- USFK bans travel to Daegu amid virus spread
- Schools asked to report foreign students' visits to China amid virus outbreak
- Value Judgment
- Pixel 9 Pro XL hands
- N. Korea distributes propaganda calendars in China
- NK fires 2 medium
- 1 more dead in expressway pileup
- Against All Odds: How Netflix Made It
- Leaders of Russia and North Korea say bilateral ties enter era of "new prosperity"
- US monitoring NK, others for potential chemical weapons proliferation: Pentagon
- NK replaces party secretary, defense minister in major reshuffle
-
Weather update for second Pak vs Ban second Test match day one
ListentoarticleThe second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh, part of the ICC World Test Champions ...[详细] -
[ANALYSIS] North Korea's latest weapons test aims to undermine kill chain system
This photo released Friday by the official Korean Central News Agency shows a high-thrust solid-fuel ...[详细] -
Bush’s commerce secretary Carlos Gutierrez says Trump would be "disaster" for economy.
Carlos Gutierrez, who was secretary of commerce under President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2009, sa ...[详细] -
S. Korea, US allay jitters over possible rift in extended deterrence against NK
President Joe Biden walks over to speak to reporters after stepping off Marine One on the South Lawn ...[详细] -
8月26日,市委书记夏凤俭在雅与四川建安工业有限责任公司董事长耿海波一行座谈。双方分别介绍了雅安经济社会发展情况和企业生产经营情况,围绕推动企业科技创新、扩大投资布局、做强产业集群、开拓市场空间等方面 ...[详细]
-
(Yonhap)Some nurses at a hospital here have contracted the new coronavirus, fueling fears that more ...[详细]
-
[INTERVIEW] 'If youth get excited about unification, things will happen very quickly'
Hyun Jin Preston Moon, the chairman and founder of Global Peace Foundation, speaks during a joint in ...[详细] -
Uber CEO admits 'we've got things wrong' in open letter
Uber is in conciliatory mode, at least in London. SEE ALSO:Uber's problems in London are Uber's prob ...[详细] -
Instagram page of Koo Ho-in (Instagram)Koo Ho-in, the older brother of deceased K-pop star Goo Hara, ...[详细]
-
Seoul city to ban rallies, Shincheonji church services to curb virus
(Yonhap)As part of drastic measures to curb the sprawling new coronavirus, the Seoul city government ...[详细]
Best Labor Day mattress deals in 2024
NK remains world's most repressive authoritarian state: State Dept.
- Aricell CEO arrested in first case under industrial accidents law
- Bracing for a long battle
- Amazon is showing off a lot of new Alexa
- NK commemorates adoption of its constitution in event joined by leader Kim
- US Open 2024 livestream: How to watch US Open tennis for free
- Here's 27.6 billion reasons why Facebook wants to regulate itself
- 老人晒被不慎坠下5楼 目前仍在医院抢救