Cameron Norrie says Novak Djokovic ‘never apologised’ after rule bending act

A British tennis star has taken aim at world number three Novak Djokovic and called him out for bending the rules of tennis.

Britain’s top ranked player Cameron Norrie has gone on that attack and put Novak Djokovic in his crosshairs.

The war of words between the pair was reignited when Norrie slammed the Serbian star for failing to apologise after their recent run-in.

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Djokovic toppled Norries during their round of 16 encounter during the Italian Open, but the match saw barbs traded.

The world number three was furious with his counterpart after being hit on the leg by an overhead smash from the Brit player.

As they came together at the net a frosty handshake unfolded as Djokovic’s anger took hold and saw him unload during his press conference.

“From the very beginning, he was doing all the things that were allowed,” Djokovic said.

“He’s allowed to take a medical time-out. He’s allowed to hit a player. He’s allowed to say ‘C’mon’ in the face more or less every single point from basically the first game.

“Those are the things that we players know in the locker room. It’s not fair play, it’s not how we treat each other.”

Djoker got the better of Norrie. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

Norrie reignited the war. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

As both men now prepare for second round encounters at the French Open, Norrie decided it was time to reignite the feud.

The world number 13 returned fire at the 22-time Grand Slam winner saying the superstar bends the rules to his own advantage.

“He wanted some more time on the physio bed and the match was scheduled for 11am,” Norrie said.

“And we walked out maybe 11.12am, 11.13am. I don’t think he saw any problem with that.

“He never said anything to me. And he never apologised.

“I asked: ‘Was that OK to do that?’. They [the officials] said: ‘Yeah, it is within the rules’. After 15 minutes, he gets defaulted. I said: ‘OK’, and I continued warming up.

“I’ve never seen that before from any player. Regardless if it’s a tennis match or not, you turn up on time for whatever it is.

“I wanted to win, it was one of those matches where he’s one of the best players in the world and I wanted to play my best and compete as hard as I could.

“I didn’t think I was in his face at all. I think, if anyone knows me, I’m pretty vocal in some matches. It was a regular tennis match for me.

“I was feeling my hip a little bit and I took the medical time-out. It is within the rules. And for him also it’s in the rules to start the match on his time – being late.”

The frosty post-game exchange. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

Despite drawing the ire of the Serbian with his overhead smash, Norrie said he apologised straight away.

“I apologised straight away and I didn’t see him. I looked up and hit the ball down low,” he said.

“I didn’t see him turn and concede the point.”

Djokovic courted controversy following his first round victory with a message written on the lens of the TV camera as he walked off court.

“Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop violence,” Djokovic wrote as the message was displayed on the big screen.

The message infuriated the country which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Norrie on the other end endured a lengthy five-set thriller to advance into the second round at Roland Garros.