John McEnroe has criticised Cameron Norrie for shouting "vamos" during his Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, describing the outburst as both peculiar and a deliberate provocation.
The American tennis legend expressed his disapproval whilst commentating on the BBC as Britain's last remaining player struggled against the Spanish second seed.
McEnroe viewed Norrie's use of the Spanish phrase, meaning "let's go," as a subtle attempt to unsettle his opponent during their Centre Court encounter.
The former world No 1 questioned the appropriateness of the celebration given Norrie's background and British representation at the Championships.
John McEnroe has criticised Cameron Norrie for shouting "vamos" during his Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, describing the outburst as both peculiar and a deliberate provocation
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The outburst occurred during the fifth game of the second set, with Alcaraz already commanding a dominant 6-2 3-1 lead over the struggling British player.
When one of the Spaniard's shots sailed wide, Norrie seized the moment to shout "vamos" in an apparent attempt to energise himself.
McEnroe's commentary on BBC was particularly pointed about the choice of language.
"Was that Norrie saying 'vamos'? It's weird for a guy that was born in South Africa, grew up in New Zealand and is a Brit, that he's saying vamos," the seven-time Grand Slam champion remarked.
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Cam Norrie was powerless to prevent himself from losing to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon
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The provocation proved ineffective as Alcaraz remained completely unfazed by the incident and continued his methodical dismantling of Norrie's challenge.
Norrie's behaviour during the Alcaraz match was not an isolated incident, as the British player had previously irritated opponents with his exuberant celebrations throughout the tournament.
Following his second-round victory over Frances Tiafoe, the American openly expressed his annoyance at Norrie's loud celebrations during their encounter.
The pattern continued in Norrie's round-of-16 clash with Nicolas Jarry, where tensions escalated further.
Immediately after their match concluded, the Chilean player confronted Norrie at the net, leading to a heated exchange between the two competitors.
Whilst Jarry chose not to make any public statements about the incident afterwards, Norrie himself acknowledged that his opponent had been displeased with his conduct during the match.
Despite Norrie's provocative behaviour throughout the tournament, Alcaraz demonstrated remarkable grace in his post-match comments following their quarter-final encounter.
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The five-time Grand Slam champion chose to focus entirely on positive aspects of his opponent's character and performance.
"I am really happy. To be able to play another semi-final here at Wimbledon is really special," he said.
"I want to go as far as I can and I am really happy with the level I played today against a really difficult player like Cam.
Carlos Alcaraz remains on track to win Wimbledon for the third year in a row
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"He is an amazing guy. No one works harder than him and it is nice to see him fighting for great things."
Alcaraz will face Taylor Fritz in the next round of the tournament, with their showdown due to take place on Thursday.
Fritz qualified by overcoming Karen Khachanov in four sets at the All England Club.
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