Novak Djokovic told rowdy British fans to “shut up” after leading Serbia to a 2-0 victory in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in Malaga.
The world number one showed his annoyance with a section of the 5,000-strong British support by cupping his ear and blowing ironic kisses at the end of the first set of his 6-4 6-4 victory over Cameron Norrie.
When the same group of fans began drumming during Djokovic’s on-court interview, the Serbian responded: “Learn how to respect players, learn how to behave yourself,” before adding, “no, you shut up, you be quiet”.
It was a sour end to what was a disappointing evening for Britain, with the writing on the wall once Jack Draper fell to a 7-6 (2) 7-6 (6) defeat by Miomir Kecmanovic in a opening rubber that was a must-win.
On his spat with the supporters, Djokovic said: “In the Davis Cup, it’s normal that sometimes fans step over the line but, in the heat of the moment, you react too, and you show that you don’t allow this kind of behaviour.
“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.”
Britain’s dramatic success against France in Manchester in September had sent them through to the final eight event for the first time in the revamped format.
The tie did not get under way until 6.10pm, more than two hours later than billed, because of the over-running first match of the day between Italy and the Netherlands.
The near-capacity crowd, which also included a sizeable number of Serbian supporters, gave the event the sort of authentic Davis Cup feel that has so often been missing since the switch from the home-and-away format.
Among those sat in the stands at the Palacio de Deportes Martin Carpena was Dan Evans, who had hoped to build on his brilliant performances in Manchester before a calf injury prematurely ended his season.
But even the British number two would have had his work cut out against an inspired Kecmanovic, who was chosen ahead of the higher-ranked Laslo Djere and fully justified the decision.
Draper had the better form coming in having reached his first ATP Tour final this month and had beaten Kecmanovic – ranked five places higher at 55 – earlier this year, but the Serbian was dominant on serve and edged two tie-breaks.
It was only the 21-year-old’s second Davis Cup rubber and he admitted knowing Djokovic was looming added to the nerves he felt.
“That’s seemingly a must-win match for me,” said Draper. “It’s definitely a tough challenge to go out there knowing that there is a lot more pressure on me to win the match.
“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. It’s tough not to get the win today. I gave it all I had mentally. I didn’t do a few things as well as I wanted to, but he played a great match.”
Djokovic had lost only six of his 61 previous matches this season, with just one defeat since the Wimbledon final, while his Davis Cup record is utterly formidable.
It is 12 years since he lost a singles match in the competition, and even that was by retirement, with now 21 straight wins and only four sets dropped.
Norrie had managed only a single set in three previous meetings and has endured a miserable run since the clay-court swing back in the spring, but he was captain Leon Smith’s only option once Andy Murray pulled out with a minor shoulder injury.
He did not put in a bad performance by any means, but was fire-fighting from the moment he was broken at 2-2 in the opening set and won only eight points on Djokovic’s serve during the contest.
While Serbia are a step closer to the trophy, Britain must start again in February in the qualifiers – barring an unlikely wild card through to September’s group stage.
The pride of Italy: Sinner's route to world number one in Opta numbers
Step aside Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, tennis has a new world number one on the block in Jannik Sinner.
The 22-year-old, born in San Candido, ended a 51-year wait for Italy to boast the ATP's best player in the world rankings after moving to top spot this month.
Sinner overtook Djokovic at the summit of the men's game after his French Open performance, reaching the Roland-Garros final before falling in a five-set thriller to the battling Alcaraz.
Having already secured his first major at the Australian Open earlier this year, Sinner's remarkable rise continued in Paris – but how has the Italian managed to do so?
Here, we unpack the best of the Opta data to delve into Sinner's surge to world number one.
Major champion in Australia
Sinner was crowned a grand slam champion for the first time in his career back in January, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final after overcoming a two-set deficit in Melbourne.
Sweeping aside Djokovic in the last four and Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals, his route to glory was far from straightforward, too.
Aged 22 years and 165 days at the time of his Melbourne Park triumph, Sinner became the youngest-ever player to achieve successive ATP top-five wins in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of a major, surpassing Michael Stich – 22 years and 262 days at Wimbledon in 1991.
That Medvedev victory, at the time, also marked Sinner's fourth top-five scalp of 2024.
Since 1973, Sinner is the only fourth player aged under 23 to claim four such wins in the opening three months of a season, after Bjorn Borg (1978-79), Miloslav Mecir (1987) and Andy Murray (2007 and 2009).
Special 2023 sets tone for this year's success
Sinner enjoyed a remarkable campaign last year, winning his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open and finishing the season by reaching the showpiece of the ATP Finals.
He finished with a win-loss record of 64-15 in 2023, breaking the Open Era record previously held by Corrado Barazzutti (55, 1978) for most ATP match wins by an Italian in a calendar year.
En route to the Indian Wells semi-final defeat to Alcaraz, Sinner also claimed a 19th consecutive ATP match win after overcoming Jiri Lehecka, breaking Adriano Panatta's record for the longest winning streak at ATP level of any Italian in the Open Era.
It is hard to argue with his position at the top, too.
Sinner became only the fifth player before turning 23 to defeat the men's world number three times in a calendar year, having overcome Alcaraz and Djokovic (twice) in a remarkable 2023 season.
The Italian also helped his country lift the Davis Cup, though major individual honours were always around the corner for the excellent right-hander.
The best in the world
Australian Open successes and a fine 2023 campaign brought Sinner to his crowning moment in June as he became the first Italian to reach world number one since the ATP rankings started in 1973.
Sinner is one of four players in the past two decades to hold the ATP's number-one ranking before the age of 23, along with Roger Federer, Nadal and Alcaraz.
Since 2000, Sinner is also just the third male player taller than 188 centimetres to reach the summit of tennis before turning 23, along with Andy Roddick and Marat Safin.
Osaka sets up Andreescu quarter-final showdown at Libema Open
Naomi Osaka will play Bianca Andreescu in the Libema Open quarter-finals after a commanding straight-sets victory over Suzan Lamens.
The four-time major winner took just 54 minutes to wrap up a 6-2 6-2 win over her Dutch opponent in t'Hertogenbosch.
Osaka looked sharp as she sought her second WTA quarter-final appearance of the season, having also reached that stage in Doha four months ago.
The Japanese hit 21 winners to 13 unforced errors, while converting four out of five break points against the world number 140.
Next up for Osaka is a showdown with 2019 US Open champion Andreescu in the last eight.
Data Debrief: Osaka storms into first grass-court quarter-final in six years
It was a dominant display by Osaka, who hit nine aces and won 15 of her 17 points on first serve (88.2 per cent).
The four-time major winner subsequently advanced to her first WTA quarter-final on grass since the 2018 Nottingham Open.
Nadal to partner Alcaraz in Olympic doubles
Rafael Nadal will partner Carlos Alcaraz in the men's doubles at the Paris Olympics, the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation has confirmed.
The Spanish duo - who will also participate in the singles competition - will team up for the tournament at Roland-Garros, which begins on July 27.
Both players have fond memories of the venue with Nadal a record 14-time French Open champion, while Alcaraz landed his maiden clay-court major crown last weekend.
Nadal is expected to call time on his glittering career this year.
A gold medallist in 2008 (singles) and 2016 (doubles), the 22-time major winner is unlikely to appear at Wimbledon and will instead focus on the Olympics where, if fit, he had hoped to partner Alcaraz.
Spain's national team coach confirmed he had got his wish, saying: "One pair, which I think everyone knows and was hoping for, is Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal. Rafa and Carlos will be playing together in Paris."
Alcaraz, who will make his debut at the Games, became the youngest player in the Open Era to win the singles title at three different grand slams when he triumphed over Alexander Zverev at Roland-Garros on Sunday.
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