Cameron Norrie saw his French Open run come to an end at the hands of Novak Djokovic.
Norrie had previously annoyed Djokovic in a match that took place in 2023, and recently played in the Geneva Open semi-finals.
However, it appeared that there was no longer bad blood between the pair, with Djokovic full of praise for Norrie before their French Open match.
With that being said, Djokovic continued his unbeaten record against the Brit after beating him for a sixth time.
Brad Gilbert criticises Cameron Norrie for what he was doing before Novak Djokovic’s serve
Norrie beat Jacob Fearnley, Daniil Medvedev and Federico Agustin Gomez to achieve his best ever result at the French Open this year.
However, it all came to an end against 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who beat Norrie 6-2 6-3 6-2.
While there is no shame in losing to Djokovic, Norrie did receive some criticism for what he did when returning the Serbian’s serve.
Taking to social media, Coco Gauff’s former coach Brad Gilbert questioned why Gauff was jumping around before Djokovic would serve the ball.
“Does anyone jump around as much as Norrie before they return every serve, shapstick another one,” Gilbert wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Seems like a waste of so much energy over five sets.”
While Gilbert queried Norrie’s decision to do this, he actually did win more points on return than serve and was able to break Djokovic twice during the match.
Tim Henman gives his verdict on Cameron Norrie’s French Open run
Gilbert is not the only person to comment on Norrie’s performance against Djokovic, but former French Open semi-finalist Tim Henman was more complimentary towards his compatriot.
Henman, who was speaking on TNT Sports, admitted that Djokovic was a level above Norrie, but was overall very positive on the Briton.
“Yeah a very sound, solid performance from Novak Djokovic,” said Henman. “Given the head-to-head he came in as the clear favourite, as he does against most of his opponents, simply too good for Cam Norrie.”
Henman added, “Novak will certainly be pleased with another straight sets victory, but as I said Cam Norrie has had a good clay court season but was beaten by the better player today. I think he will leave Paris with renewed confidence, knowing that his game is moving in the right direction once again.”
Norrie, who is a former world number eight, was down at world number 81 heading into the French Open this year.
However, after achieving his best ever result in Paris, he is expected to climb back into the top 60 in the ATP rankings.
Despite playing on the biggest stage on Court Philippe-Chatrier against Djokovic, Norrie is next scheduled to play a grass court Challenger tournament in Ilkley.
