Djokovic advances to Italian Open quarter-finals after defeating Norrie

Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarter-finals of the Italian Open after defeating Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4. While Djokovic has reached the last eight in each of his previous 16 appearances in Rome, Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev and home hope Jannik Sinner both crashed out, making Djokovic’s chances of winning a seventh title on clay in Rome easier. Djokovic will face Holger Rune in the quarter-finals, a rematch of last year’s Paris Masters final. Djokovic won the first three games against Norrie and closed out the first set with little fuss. The 35-year-old then took the second set to 2-1 with a break, but in the next game, Norrie broke back while angering Djokovic with a smash which hit him on the back of his left leg. Djokovic later explained that he had been irritated by Norrie’s on-court behavior since the start of the match, doing “things that we players know in the locker room it’s not fair play.”