‘No, you shut up’ – Furious Novak Djokovic clashes with rowdy British fans at Davis Cup

Novak Djokovic clashed with noisy British supporters during Serbia’s Davis Cup win over Great Britain.

The 24-time grand slam champion led his nation to a 2-0 quarter-final triumph with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Cameron Norrie in Malaga.

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Playing in front of a 5,000-strong British crowd, Djokovic grew increasingly irritated by a perceived lack of respect and blew kisses to the stands at the end of the first set.

Then, as fans starting banging drums during his post-match interview, a furious Djokovic said: “Learn how to respect players, learn how to behave yourself. No, you shut up, you be quiet.”

Reflecting on the outburst during his post-match press conference, the world no.1 explained: “In the Davis Cup, it’s normal that sometimes fans step over the line but, in the heat of the moment, you react too, and you show that you don’t allow this kind of behaviour.

“They can do whatever they want, but I’m going to respond to that. I was trying to talk and they were purposely starting to play the drums so that I don’t talk and they were trying to annoy me the entire match. So we had a little bit of a chat in the end.”

Djokovic is well-accustomed to vitriolic treatment from tennis crowds and Britain captain Leon Smith insists the Davis Cup is meant to be rowdy.

“That’s one of the things that’s good about Davis Cup and the team competition that actually you’re kind of meant to make noise,” Smith said.

“Whether there is a bit that goes over, comments, I could hear a couple – I don’t think it’s that bad. I would hate to see it quietening down, because there’s enough quiet tennis as it is.”