Cameron Norrie was keen to show off his Duolingo skills during his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, but John McEnroe was not a fan.
The British star’s quarter-final clash against two-time Wimbledon champ Alcaraz did not get off to the greatest of starts.
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Norrie was up against it from the get-go against the reigning Wimbledon championCredit: AFP via Getty
Alcaraz, who eased to a straight-sets victory over the 29-year-old, was in cruise control throughout the opening set as he stormed to a 6-2 lead.
The Spaniard was once again dominant early in the second set and went ahead 3-1.
Knowing that there was a serious risk of Alcaraz running away with the contest, Norrie tried to inject some energy into the crowd and himself when his rival fired a shot beyond the baseline.
Amid the applause, Norrie bellowed out ‘vamos’, which translates to ‘let’s go’ in Spanish.
Norrie’s shout was met by surprise from McEnroe on commentary duties.
“Was that Norrie saying ‘vamos?'” McEnroe said.
He added: “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.”
Fans on social media shared a similar stance to McEnroe.
One X user wrote: “Norrie why are you saying vamos? You’re not Spanish!”
Another said: “Alcaraz is too good, Norrie saying vamos, seriously!?”
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The Brit’s time at SW19 for this year’s tournament came to an endCredit: AFP via Getty
A third added: “John McEnroe calling out Norrie for shouting vamos and rightly so.”
However, Norrie revealed in his post-match press conference the reason he yells out vamos is because his coach, Facundo Lugones, is from Argentina.
Norrie also claimed he had been saying vamos throughout the entire tournament.
It ultimately mattered for nought though, as Alcaraz cruised to a 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Although Alcaraz rarely needed to go through the gears on Centre Court, he was still full of praise for Norrie.
“I am really happy. To be able to play another semi-final here at Wimbledon is really special,” Alcaraz said.
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Alcaraz has booked a spot in the Wimbledon semi-finals against Taylor FritzCredit: AFP via Getty
“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.
“He is an amazing guy. No one works harder than him and it is nice to see him fighting for great things.”
Although Alcaraz evidently let Norrie’s brief flirtation with the Spanish language slide, another Spaniard on tour was less receptive.
Last November, Norrie fought from a set and break down to beat Roberto Carballes Baena in Metz, but things got heated in the aftermath during the post-match handshake.
The Spaniard appeared annoyed with Norrie for repeatedly saying ‘vamos’ to motivate himself throughout the comeback.
He said to his rival: “You’re saying ‘come on’ all the time, [while] looking in my face. You didn’t need to do that.”
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An unmoved Norrie replied: “A couple of ‘vamos’ and you get p***** off?”
Carballes Baena fired back: “A couple of ‘vamos’? No!
“You said ‘vamos’, looking in my face. You don’t need to do this.”
Norrie later explained his side of the story during his on-court and claimed he said ‘vamos’ to ‘get myself fired up’.
“I couldn’t play much worse than I was, and I was trying to get fired up, and he was apparently not happy with me saying ‘vamos’ a couple times,” Norrie said.
“But I stopped doing it, and I started playing better.
“Then I was happy with the way I turned it around, and nice to get a win after an injury.”