Andy Murray gave his honest take on a video where Novak Djokovic hit a ball directly at Roger Federer during the pair’s meeting nine years ago.
The video posted by Tennis TV on Instagram with the question: Legitimate play?, was from the 2014 Shanghai Masters semifinal, where Federer defeated Djokovic in straight sets before going on to win his first title in the Chinese city that year.
But it was for an infamous incident where one Djokovic shot caught Federer on his body that was one of the talking points and has its own place in the tennis bloopers reel. Murray hopped in to answer the question and concurred that it was legitimate by the book, calling it a ‘great shot’.
Murray, in his response, adds that Djokovic is not fond of having the roles reversed in that case. He mentions how the Serb gave his opponents a death stare for doing relatively the same thing, most notably Rafael Nadal and Brit Cameron Norrie.
“Totally legitimate play. Great shot. However, when Rafa clocked him in Canada and Norrie in Rome he reacted like “how dare you?”
Murray recounts the first incident which happened in 2013 at the Canadian Open in Montreal, where Djokovic and Nadal were involved in a late-night dogfight under the lights. Midway through the third set, Djokovic digs out a Nadal drop shot while at the net.
The Spaniard finishes off the point by hitting the ball straight at Djokovic, who reacted in disgust. Nadal raised his hand to apologize, but Djokovic’s face was full of rage and annoyance. The second incident happened during this year’s clay swing in a match in Rome.
Djokovic was playing British lefty Cameron Norrie, who hit a smash straight at the Serb’s legs. An apologetic Norrie waved his arm as he trudged to the baseline. Djokovic, visibly exasperated, gave Norrie a long stare. There was a no-look handshake at the end of the match, which Djokovic won.
