Cameron Norrie became just the fourth Briton to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals in the Open era. We take a look at the journey that has taken him there.
New Zealand’s loss is Britain’s gain
Norrie, who has a Scottish dad and Welsh mum, was born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand. As a junior, Norrie represented New Zealand, but despite reaching 10th in the world junior rankings, he was overlooked for funding and, at the time, his mum said the family were “very disappointed” with his support Tennis New Zealand to him. So, at 17, the left-hander decided to play for Britain because of the better funding opportunities. New Zealand newspapers often referred to him as “the one who got away” – a remark that grows louder with each new milestone in Norrie’s career. It will be deafening if it goes all the way to Wimbledon.
Living a “normal life” in college
When Norrie made his professional debut in 2017 as a 22-year-old, he had three years of college life studying sociology at Texas Christian University behind him. He told BBC Sport that it gave him the chance to mature and “have more of a normal life”, rather than going the route of traveling the world alone at the age of 17 on one of the tours. He said college tennis allowed him to have “a decent social life” and interests outside of tennis, which gave him a good balance and a greater sense of perspective. That’s not to say tennis isn’t his number one priority now – it clearly is, telling reporters after his quarter-final win that he’s putting it first and not taking a long break. But he says it was his time in college that made him “pretty focused and pretty composed” on the field. And he is, this is not a racket breaking player.
The moped crash that was the “turning point”
While in college, he had a moped accident that he says was a “turning point” in his life. “In the fall of my sophomore year at TCU, after a typical Thursday night out at the bars, I returned to my dorm,” he wrote at backtheraquet.com.external-link “We all had a pretty big night and definitely a couple too many. “I decided to ride my moped to my girlfriend’s house, who I was dating at the time. I didn’t even make it 20 meters when I ended up falling and hitting my chin on the handlebars. I left the moped on the ground with blood all over it.” She told British media at Wimbledon this week that she realized she was “not making the best decisions” and that she was going out more than she should have. “After that, the coaches really put me through the paces and I was definitely more professional,” he said. “I grew up a lot after that.”
‘Impressive’ Davis Cup debut and first ATP final
Norrie makes a stunning comeback – his top five shots Norrie produced “one of the most impressive debuts ever” in Great Britain’s Davis Cup defeat by Spain in February 2018, according to former captain John Lloyd. He came from two sets down to stun Roberto Bautista Agut – who was ranked 91 places above him – to record Britain’s only win in a 3-1 loss tie, with Norrie also taking Albert Ramos a set- Vinolas. It was his first professional matches on red clay and the first time he had gone beyond three sets. Less than a year later, Norrie reached his first ATP final – at the Auckland International in New Zealand (of all places) in January 2019. Then ranked 93rd in the world, he was beaten in straight sets by American Tennis Sandgren in the city where he grew up. It would be another two and a half years before he won his first ATP title, which came in the final of the Los Cabos Open in Mexico.
Hitting the big time – Indian Wells title
Cameron Norrie beat Nikoloz Basilashvili to win the 2021 Indian Wells title Norrie missed the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to focus on the ATP Tour, a decision that paid off in October when he became the first Briton to win the prestigious Indian Wells title. The Masters 1,000 event is one of the biggest titles in tennis and the win took him to British No.1, lifted him to a career-high 16th in the world and put him in contention to reach the season’s ATP Finals. . He had started 2021 ranked 74th in the world but made six finals and won two titles to finish the year ranked 12th. He qualified as second alternate for the ATP Finals and made his debut at the event after two exits, losing in three sets to Norway’s Casper Ruud and in straight sets to Novak Djokovic. His good form continued in 2022 as he won two more titles, moving him into the world’s top 10 in April.
Grand Slam discovery
For all his growing success on the ATP Tour, he hasn’t been able to translate that into a deep run at a Grand Slam, which is why he’s perhaps flown under the radar for the Wimbledon crowd that year after year. He had reached the third round at the Australian, French and US Opens in the past two years, as well as the same stage at Wimbledon in 2021, but until this year had never made the second week of a major. He was beaten by Roger Federer at the All England Club last year, and also lost to Rafael Nadal at the French Open and Australian Open that year. This time he faces the other member of the sport’s “big three” in Djokovic, who is the defending champion. But he is in the last four and, after his thrilling quarter-final win over David Goffin, his profile has soared.
Physical condition is his “main asset”.
Wimbledon 2022: Watch Cameron Norrie’s comeback as he beats David Goffin to advance Norrie has earned a reputation as one of the most skilled players on tour. He has a personal best 10K time of around 36 minutes, according to Runner’s World, and his Argentine coach Facundo Lugones said “his main advantage on the physical side is his endurance”. Speaking Wednesday, Lugones said Norrie can push his heart rate up to 200 beats per minute and maintain that “for six, seven minutes, no problem.” “He can play not just for a few hours, but four hours and maintain the same level of fitness,” Lugones told atptour.comexternal-link last year. “Some players can be really physical, but only for two hours. I think he has the stamina to do it for hours and days on end, back to back.” Nori even said that he would put his feet up “against anyone, even Rafa [Nadal]”
Consistency and stability for coach and “chicken”
Lugones, who has been with Norrie for seven years, said he and Norrie have “a great relationship” and that “we have a lot of respect for each other,” adding: “Off the field we talk about anything. We are friends. When we’re in tennis, really, really professional, really serious.” Not always serious though. Lugones used to refer to Norrie as his “chicken” and explained why. “It was a long time ago. In Argentina, when you take care of someone, you call them like your chicken, like you take care of them,” he said. “When I started traveling with him, all my friends were asking me, ‘How’s your chicken?’ in Spanish. That’s why I call him that. That’s kind of the reason for it. “He’s become a dog now. He’s no longer a chicken.”
Victory in front of rights
Norrie was emotional after his win over Goffin – and his family and those watching on Court One joined in with tears. If the British public didn’t know much about Norrie up to that point, then this was the moment he loved himself, and all under the eyes of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge too. There was a peak TV audience of 4.5 million for the Goffin fight, which isn’t bad considering the UK Chancellor and Health Secretary both resigned during it. Even more eyes are likely to be on him when he faces Djokovic on Friday.
