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Andy Roddick acknowledged Cameron Norrie didn't do anything against the rules when he attempted to get under Novak Djokovic's skin and change the dynamics of the match. Early in their Rome Masters round-of-16 match, Djokovic was getting annoyed by Norrie's loud "Come On" shouts.
When a Norrie smash hit Djokovic's leg, that's when the Serb got even more irritated. After claiming a 6-3 6-4 win over Norrie, Djokovic admitted he wasn't happy with the Briton's actions. Also, Djokovic suggested Norrie knew what he was doing just wasn't fair play.
Roddick on the Djokovic-Norrie drama
“It’s fair play. Norrie has every right to do what he wants and Novak has every right to not like it. He wasn’t breaking any rules. I’ve gotten in trouble for criticizing people for taking medical timeouts a little too often.
Novak said that he looked at the replay and said that maybe Norrie didn’t see him with his back turned. So Novak understands hitting a ball where you’re not supposed to, sometimes. Listen, it doesn’t matter.
Norrie can do what he wants, Novak cannot like it, we wash our hands, and we move on. Novak got the win and it’s over. Or we stay mad about it, which makes no sense at all. He didn’t break any rules, he was obviously trying to do something because he was not winning with the patterns that were being played on the court.
So he tried to change the dynamic of the match. Novak is just way too experienced, he has seen it too many times. You’re going to blame a guy for trying? You don’t have to like it but he was trying something," Roddick said on Tennis Channel, via Eurosport.
It was the third meeting between Djokovic and Norrie. Now, Djokovic owns a 3-0 head-to-head against Norrie. Previously, Djokovic defeated Norrie at the 2021 ATP Finals and 2022 Wimbledon, respectively.