Norrie, who will play Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s singles semi-final on Friday, has previously said a turning point of his career was when he was involved in a moped crash in his second year of university, which became a “wake-up call” he needed to take his tennis career seriously. David Roditi, who coached the Briton when Norrie was a student at Texas Christian University, said the accident was “the tip of the iceberg” and he was part of a meeting with Norrie afterwards. “He didn’t say a lot,” Roditi recalled. “It wasn’t a contentious meeting. It was just letting him know we felt he was at a crossroad and he needed to choose.” He said that initially Norrie wanted to be a “normal” teenager attending university and that “he thought he wasn’t ready to be a dedicated tennis player”. “He was just a typical 19- to 20-year-old. At that age you want to have fun, you want to be social, have a couple of beers and chase girls,” Roditi said. However, after the accident Norrie decided to dedicate himself to the sport. “After [the crash] the coaches really kicked me into gear and I was definitely more professional after that. I grew up a lot after that. From then on I was like, OK, I want to play tennis and commit to that and do that,” Norrie said. Roditi said there was no doubt Norrie was “one of the best – if not the best – tennis prospects in the college system”. “We are so proud he is recognised as one of the hardest-working players,” Roditi added. “We couldn’t be prouder of the professional tennis player he is now. What a great role model he has become.” Norrie’s girlfriend, Louise Jacobi, has said watching him win his quarter-final match against Belgium’s David Goffin was “surreal”. Jacobi said her boyfriend’s dream was to be in the top 10. “Back then I didn’t know it was going to transpire, and just watching his hard work pay off has been insane,” she said.
