Novak Djokovic secured Serbia's spot in the semifinal of the Davis Cup Finals, but he didn't have everything going his way.
After compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic earned Serbia's first point over Great Britain, beating rising star Jack Draper in two tiebreak sets, it was up to Djokovic to seal the deal. And the 24-time Grand Slam champion duly delivered, beating Cameron Norrie in straight sets.
It was the 36-year-old's 21st straight win in the Davis Cup competition. As Djokovic was handling the post-match interview, he accused a section of British fans of being too noisy in an angry outburst. Several fans were drumming while Djokovic spoke on the court.
At least 5,000 British fans were in attendance in Malaga to cheer for their country and gave the Serbian World No. 1 a rough time during the match, audibly shouting between serves to try to hamper his concentration. But Djokovic snapped during his interview and hit back.
"Learn how to respect players, learn how to behave yourself. No, you shut up, you be quiet."
Djokovic was not agitated with the atmosphere inside the stadium. Understandably, Davis Cup crowds can be thunderous and create a hostile atmosphere for the players competing. Still, later on, he admitted some spectators went over the top to try to annoy him.
"In the heat of the moment, you react too, and you show that you don’t allow this kind of behavior. 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."
Serbia has successfully qualified for the semifinal where they will meet Italy, which defeated the Netherlands earlier on Thursday. The tie will see Djokovic and Jannik Sinner cross paths for the third time in a month. Djokovic memorably defeated Sinner to win the ATP Finals last Sunday.
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