But world No.13 Norrie responded: “I actually watched the match with Baez and I think there was nothing wrong with what he was doing. There is a difference: if you’re doing it right in front of someone’s face and looking at them and trying to taunt them, that’s not great. I was not doing that, Baez was not doing that, and I think it’s part of the game.

Norrie insisted his medical timeout in Rome for a hip problem was “within the rules”. And the British No.1 added: “And for him also it’s in the rules to start the match on his time – being late. I think it’s normal.

“The ATP told me that it was within the rules. He wanted some more time on the physio bed and the match was scheduled for 11am. And we walked out maybe 11.12, 11.13, I don’t think he saw any problem with that. He never said anything to me. And he never apologised. I asked: ‘Was that okay to do that?’ They said: ‘Yeah, it is within the rules.’

"After 15 minutes he gets defaulted. I said: ‘Okay.’ And I continued warming up. I’ve never seen that before but I think it’s within the rules from what they said.”

Asked if it was disrespectful, Norrie mentioned: “I don’t know. For me, I’ve by no means seen