Novak Djokovic-Cameron Norrie drama inspires Mardy Fish to make joke list of players most likely to hit your face ft. Andy Roddick, Jimmy Connors
Novak Djokovic and Cameron Norrie's fourth-round clash at the Italian Open caused a stir when Norrie inadvertently smashed an overhead shot straight into the Serb's ankle.
Djokovic defeated Norrie 6-3, 6-4 to advance to his 17th straight quarterfinals berth in Rome. In a controversial moment in the fourth game of the second set, the Serb played a loose lob shot and turned his back to return to the baseline, fully believing that he had lost the point. Norrie returned the ball with an overhead smash, striking the 35-year-old's ankle. The Brit received a brutal staredown in return. Norrie's shot did appear to be unintentional as he promptly apologized to the No. 1 seed by raising his hands.
What happened there? š³
#IBI23 https://t.co/anA3ZvqVjj
The incident between the pair inspired former World No. 7 Mardy Fish to compile a list of players who would target their opponents' faces when hitting an overhead smash at the net.
"In honor of āOverhead Gateā between Cam and Novakā¦ Here is my top 5 list of guys who would hit you in the face with an overhead if you were at the netā¦," he tweeted.
Playfully referring to him as a "jerk," Fish ranked compratriot James Blake in fifth place. Nenad Zimonjic occupied the fourth spot with Andy Roddick edging him out for third place. The Amercian ranked Jimmy Connors in second, leaving Ivan Lendl to claim the top spot in the list.
In honor of āOverhead Gateā between Cam and Novakā¦ Here is my top 5 list of guys who would hit you in the face with an overhead if you were at the netā¦
1. Ivan Lendl
2. Jimmy Connors
3. Andy Roddick
4. Nenad Zimonjic
5. James Blake (Jerk)
Fish later clarified that he had compiled the list in jest.
"I'm kiddin buddy.... always. Good luck to your boys," he commented.
š½@Anthony606061 Iām kiddin buddyā¦.always. Good luck to your boys šš½
Andy Roddick and Monica Puig weigh in on the Novak Djokovic and Cameron Norrie incident
Andy Roddick and Monica Puig recently appeared on the Tennis Channel and weighed in on the incident between Novak Djokovic and Cameron Norrie.
Puig stated that the moment in the second set fired the Serb up to find an extra gear to assert his dominance over the Brit.
"Obviously, that just made Djokovic go that extra level of fire and say 'hey, your'e not going to screw with me here on the court, I'm the boss, I'm in charge, and I'm going to show you," Puig said.
She added that she herself would have never hit an opponent with an overhead shot.
"If it were me, I woudn't go about hitting my opponent with an overhead. It's been discussed, he had the whole court," she added.
Meanwhile, Andy Roddick claimed that both players were right in their actions.
"It's fairplay. Norrie has every right to do what he wants and Novak has every right to not like it," Roddick said.
Novak Djokovic will take on Holger Rune in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open on Wednesday, May 17.