cnn
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Novak Djokovic's straight-sets victory over Cameron Norrie at the Italian Open spilled over when the British tennis star hit the back of the World No. 1's leg with a smash.
The incident occurred at the start of the second set and, despite an instant apology from Norrie, Djokovic did not respond well and proceeded to stare at his opponent.
Djokovic's glare continued as he walked towards the net before offering a verbal rebuttal to the British number one.
“Maybe you could say he didn't hit me deliberately,” Djokovic told reporters after his 6-3 6-4 round of 16 victory.
“I don't know if he saw me. I mean… you can always see where the player is positioned on the court.”
Djokovic added that he wasn't entirely enamored with Norrie's general behavior throughout the match.
“Maybe it wasn't so much about that, but a combination of things,” Djokovic, 35, said.
“I was doing all the things we are allowed to do. You are allowed to take a medical timeout. He is allowed to hit a player. He's allowed to say “let's go” to your face at more or less every point, basically, since the first game.
“Those are the things that we players know in the locker room: it's not fair play, it's not about how we treat each other. But, I repeat, it is allowed.”
However, Djokovic did not let his discontent with Norrie affect his form on court as he advanced towards a place in the Italian Open quarter-finals.
“He brought the fire and I responded to that. I'm not going to let someone who behaves like that just bow their head at me. “I'm going to answer that,” added the winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments.
“I got along very well with Cameron all those years he was on tour. We practice with each other. He is a very nice guy off the court, so, to be honest, I don't understand this kind of attitude on the court.”
A representative for Norrie told CNN that the world No. 13 had no comment on Djokovic's post-game comments.
