Frances Tiafoe has claimed that Cameron Norrie started “annoying him” in the first game of their second-round clash at Wimbledon. The Brit, who reached the semi-final here in 2022 but has since fallen down the rankings, upset the No. 12 seed 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-5 on Wednesday.

After going out on day three of the tournament, Tiafoe made a brutal comment and suggested that Norrie wouldn’t have played as well without the home advantage.

The American knew the crowd would be on Norrie’s side on Court 1. While that didn’t bother him, some of the world No. 61’s behaviour did.

“No, [the crowd] didn't bother me. I mean, he was super amped. He was saying, C'mon, from the first game, which is definitely annoying, but that part bothered me more than the crowd,” Tiafoe said.

“But, no, I mean, I think the biggest thing is that he kept going and playing much better because of the crowd. I don't think he probably plays as well if the crowd wasn't so far behind him.

“I mean, they really pushed him, and he started believing it.”

Tiafoe gave the British No. 3 credit for a strong day on serve, but he made another dig as he claimed it was unexpected given Norrie’s usual performances.

The 27-year-old added: “I don't think he served that well in a really long time. He served 75, some stupid per cent. I hardly got looks the second set.

“Yeah, I was trying to move around a little bit, but yeah. I was shocked how well he served today. Never really seen him serve like that.”

There have been plenty of upsets at Wimbledon this year. In the first round, 23 of the 64 seeds across the men’s and women’s singles draws were sent packing - a joint record.

After falling victim to a round two upset, Tiafoe shared his own theory for the surprise results.

“I mean, grass is a tricky surface. The game is getting much deeper. You have to think, not so long ago Cam made the semifinals here, and now I'm playing him the second round,” he explained.

“You have floaters like that, and then you have some young guys playing well. The game is just really tough. It's not like how it used to be where you can kind of, I mean, quote, unquote, get to your seedings easier.

“Now a lot of guys you don't even know come out and play, and by the time you know it you find yourself battling deep in the fourth and fifth. Yeah, I mean, the game has incredible depth right now. If you're not ready to go, you're going to lose. It seems like guys weren't ready to go, ready to play.”

To be the first to receive the latest Wimbledon news, join our WhatsApp community or Wimbledon newsletter