Novak Djokovic yells ‘shut up’ at British fans and accuses them of disrespect in furious bust-up after world No 1 beats Cam Norrie to seal Serbia victory in Davis Cup tie

Novak Djokovic angrily accused British fans of disrespecting him on Thursday night after he sealed a 2-0 victory for Serbia over Great Britain in the Davis Cup quarter-final.

The world No 1 became incensed after beating Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-4 to clinch the tie as spectators from the UK banged drums and sang during his post-match interview on court.

‘Learn how to respect players, how to behave yourselves, learn how to respect people, you shut up, you be quiet,’ he said, raising his voice and gesticulating to a group behind the umpires chair and telling one man to leave.

Other British spectators were also telling them to be quiet as they wanted to hear what he had to say after another masterclass.

Thousands of Brits had flocked to the Costa Del Sol to cheer on the British team against Serbia and Djokovic – and had earlier made the fatal mistake of annoying him.

The world number one blew sarcastic kisses to the same section in the stands in response to some seemingly gentle goading after the first set. He then proceeded to see off Norrie to clinch the semi-final place.

Even before taking to the court Djokovic had cast his spell over the GB team, with Jack Draper admitting that his mere presence had piled on extra pressure to win an opening rubber that would have kept them in the match.

Draper was to go down to an outstanding performance from his opposite number Miomir Kecmanovic. That left it to Djokovic to his side’s semi-final place, which he duly did by overcoming Norrie 6-4 6-4.

The 21 year-old southpaw from Surrey admitted that the knowing Djokovic was a near certainty to take the second point had its own effect.

‘It’s difficult knowing that Cam has to go and play Djokovic after, and that’s kind of seemingly a must-win match for me,’ said Draper after his 7-6 7-6 defeat. ’It’s definitely a tough challenge to go out there knowing that there is a lot more almost pressure on me to win the match.

‘It’s an invaluable experience for me at a young age – that’s the kind of pressure that, if I want to be a top player, I have to cope with and have to perform under.’

His analysis was correct, given that Djokovic remains near unbeatable, and the loss effectively made the evening a formality. The doubles rubber, which Britain would have been favourites for with a team of Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury, was rendered an irrelevance.

It was a deflating for the majority British presence in the crowd which packed out the Palacio de Deportes and showed that Davis Cup tennis can still provide an atmosphere that is a match for any other.

Serbia kept everyone guessing about their second singles choice and plumped for world number 55 Kecmanovic, who totally justified the faith of Captain Viktor Troicki with an impeccable performance that was marginally too solid for Draper. Neither Dan Evans nor Andy Murray were available due to injury, but both would have had to be at their best to beat him.

In fact, the former world junior champion played so well that it was hard to believe he has had a distinctly average season.

Draper has been in good form after finally ridding himself of injuries, but after starting the match with three aces found the Serb stubbornly resistant. The young British player played his part in some incredible rallies, and his only real letdown was the first tiebreak, in which he served two double faults to lose it 7-2.

There was not a break of serve all match, and Kecmanovic took the second tiebreak 8-6 after showing his only sign of nerves from 5-2 up.

‘I didn’t return amazingly well but his tennis level at times is top ten in the world,’ said Draper.’ He doesn’t miss many balls. His ball speed is good off both sides, very consistent.’

Norrie has recently taken a rare break from the game after admitting to feeling burnt out, and it looked to have done him good. He competed well against Djokovic but the Serb showed why he has lost only once since Wimbledon, covering the court with astonishing ease.

The world number one never appeared to be in danger, but he could not relax either against an opponent who was dealing with less anxiety than Draper had done earlier.

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