Reporter question on conduct annoys Djokovic

Having survived a scare at the hands of Austrian debutant Dominic Thiem in the ATP World Tour finals in London deposed world number one Novak Djokovic was irritated by a reporter’s question about his behaviour at the news conference afterwards.

Djokovic lost the first set to Thiem and angrily slammed the ball into the ground, sending it bouncing into the stands and into a staircase.

The umpire gave the Serb a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Djokovic went on to win the match 6-7 (10) 6-0 6-2.

When it was suggested by a British newspaper reporter that he could have found himself in hot water had the ball hit a spectator, a tetchy Djokovic snapped:

“It could have been, or it could have been snowing in the O2 Arena today but it didn’t.”

The reporter had referred to this year’s French Open at Roland Garros, where Djokovic narrowly avoided disqualification when his racquet slipped out of his hand and almost swiped a line judge during the Serb’s quarter-final win over Tomas Berdych.

Knocked off the summit he had occupied for 122 weeks by Andy Murray last week, Djokovic is seeking his fifth successive ATP World Tour finals title, and a return to the number one position.

The Serb trails Murray by 405 points in the standings but Murray will lose the 275 points he gained for winning the Davis Cup for Britain last year.

That means they are virtually neck-and-neck and the 200 points Djokovic earned for beating Thiem edged him ahead in what is turning into a thrilling race for the year-end honour.