Although there was tension with the Briton when the top seed was struck by a smash, Novak Djokovic easily defeated Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday to go to the Italian Open quarterfinals.
The Serb has advanced to the round of eight in each of his previous 16 outings in the Italian city, and he accomplished so once more on Tuesday by defeating Norrie on center court to set up a matchup with Holger Rune.
It will be a replay of the Paris Masters final from a year ago when the young Dane defeated Djokovic in a dramatic encounter to win his maiden Masters 1000 championship.
“I know his game fairly well, despite the fact that he’s quite young. He has been playing some fantastic tennis on the circuit for the past several years, especially in the past, perhaps, six to eight months, according to Djokovic.
“He’s in great shape, and I embrace the challenge. It seems like it will be a really physically demanding battle.”
The shocking elimination of Carlos Alcaraz on Monday has helped Djokovic’s hopes of winning a seventh clay-court championship in Rome a little bit.
Alcaraz, who won two straight events in Barcelona and Madrid, will replace Djokovic as the world’s top player on May 22. However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion may enter Roland Garros with a new trophy in hand.
Djokovic defeated Norrie in the first three games and easily won the opening set without having to play at his peak.
With a break, the 35-year-old then brought the second set to 2-1. However, Norrie broke back in the following game, infuriating Djokovic with a smash that struck the back of his left thigh.
Norrie had the entire court to finish the point since Djokovic had given up on it and was returning to the service line.
When the Briton advanced to 3-2 and Djokovic passed him at the changeover, Norrie lifted his hand to apologize. However, Djokovic gave him another lengthy, beady-eyed look.
And after saving his second match point to clinch the victory, Djokovic offered Norrie a quick handshake at the net without making eye contact or speaking to the defeated foe.
Norrie’s on-court behavior, which included “things that we players know in the locker room it’s not fair play,” annoyed Djokovic from the beginning of the match, he later said.
“He’s a really kind man off the court, but to be honest, I don’t understand this type of mentality on the court. It is, nevertheless, what it is. I reacted to the fire that he brought.”
“I won’t stand by and let someone act like this just by bending my head. I’m going to answer that.
“It just is that. We leave the court as it is and carry on regardless of what occurs there.”
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in a third-round match that was postponed on Monday due to rain, and on Tuesday night, he will face another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti, in the round of 16.
When Iga Swiatek takes on Donna Vekic, she will attempt to maintain her brilliant start to the competition.
The top-ranked Swiatek has won 13 straight games in Rome, and the elimination of seeds two through six has helped her chances of winning her third championship in as many years.
