Serbian tennis icon, Novak Djokovic dispatched Cameron Norrie by 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday to progress to the Italian Open quarterfinals.
The Serbian has reached the round of eight in each of his previous 16 matches in the Italian city. On Tuesday, he was successful in doing so once more, defeating Norrie on center court.
Without having to exert his best effort, Djokovic swiftly took the first set by dispatching Norrie in the first three games.
The 35-year-old then broke to tie the second set at 2-1, but Norrie broke again the next game while alarming Djokovic with a smash that smacked the back of his left knee.
Norrie had the entire court to put the ball away since Djokovic had given up on the point and was returning to the service line.
Norrie lifted his hand to apologize as the score reached 3-2 for the Brit, but Djokovic gave him another long, beady-eyed look as he passed him at the changeover.
After his victory over the British tennis star, Novak Djokovic immediately shook Norrie’s hand at the net without establishing eye contact with or communicating with the defeated foe.
His win over Norrie means that Djokovic will face Holger Rune in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Wednesday.
This fixture is a repeat of this year’s Paris Masters’ final in which Rune overcame Djokovic in a thrilling match to claim his first Masters’ title.
“Even though he’s really young, I know his game quite well. He’s been on the tour now for the last few years playing some great tennis, particularly in the last I would say six to eight months,” said Djokovic.
“He’s in very good form and I look forward to a challenge. I think it’s going to be a very physical match.”
