So Sad: Djokovic reveals what the British supporters did to him during the Davis Cup.

The world no. 1 Djokovic played with his trademark unwavering determination and then chastised the British supporters for trying to muffle his victory speech with drums at the end of the match.

After defeating Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 to win a 2-0 victory over Great Britain on Thursday, Novak Djokovic guided Serbia into the Davis Cup semi-finals, setting up an exciting matchup with Italy’s Jannik Sinner. Italy, who overcame the Netherlands 2-1, will play Serbia in the second semi-final in Malaga on Saturday. Finland and Australia, the runners-up from the previous year, will play on Friday.

The world no. 1 Djokovic played with his trademark unwavering determination and then chastised the British supporters for trying to muffle his victory speech with drums at the end of the match.

Following a 7-6 (7/2) victory over Jack Draper by Miomir Kecmanovic in the first singles match, Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, defeated the tenacious Norrie.

After defeating Sinner at the ATP Finals on Sunday in Turin and taking a plane to the Costa del Sol, Djokovic celebrated his 400th week at the top of the rankings with a straight-set victory. However, the captains decided not to play the unnecessary doubles rubber.

At the sold-out Martin Carpena arena, there were perhaps 5,000 more British supporters than Serbs, but Djokovic’s unwavering performance in winning his 21st consecutive Davis Cup singles match hushed them.

After the match, Djokovic shook hands with a group of supporters who he said had disrespected him the entire time, telling them to “learn how to respect people, learn how to respect players, and learn how to behave yourselves.”

‘Disrespect’

“There was disrespect throughout the entire match, but that’s something I have to be ready for in the Davis Cup,” Djokovic said to the media.

It’s common for fans to cross boundaries, and in the heat of the moment, you react too, implying that you don’t tolerate this kind of behavior.

As usual, Djokovic’s play spoke for itself on the court. He broke to take a 3-2 lead in the opening set and served it out, then did it again in the opening game of the second set with decisive ease.

Though he has won seven titles this year, including three Grand Slams, Djokovic stated earlier this week that winning the competition is one of his “greatest goals.”

The seasoned player helped Serbia win its lone Davis Cup match in 2010 and saw off ten-time champions Britain, who were in for a difficult match after Kecmanovic’s two tie-break victories over Draper.

Without Andy Murray and Dan Evans out due to injury, Britain was expecting that Draper would provide them with some cushion.

Kecmanovic was chosen by Serbian captain Viktor Troicki ahead of Laslo Djere, who was ranked higher, and the world number 55 improved his performance in response.

Draper managed to save two set chances and hold for a 5-5 lead, but in the opening tie-break, he gave up the set easily to the Serbian after double faulting twice and misjudging a drop shot.

The near-flawless Kecmanovic triumphed in the second set when Draper lashed a forehand wide and then pushed a return into the net.

“It was definitely very close, and just the atmosphere made it, I think, even more tense than it probably would be if it was like an ATP match or something,” said the Serb.

Sinner stars

The world number four won both his singles rubber and the pivotal doubles match to propel Italy into the Davis Cup semifinals.

In the initial singles rubber, Matteo Arnaldi was defeated by Botic van de Zandschulp 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) but he defeated Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 to equalize the tie.

Then, to make it to the Malaga semifinals for the second consecutive year, Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego defeated Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof 6-3, 6-4.

When they qualified for three straight Davis Cup semifinals, the wildcard participants last achieved back-to-back semifinals between 1996 and 1998.

It was a great pleasure for me to play with Sonego; we have an amazing squad. We were under a lot of pressure and started this deciding doubles match as the underdogs, but Sinner stated.