Cameron Norrie is the ninth seed at Wimbledon. Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July Coverage: Live on BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app.
Cameron Norrie became only the fourth Briton to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals in the Open era.
We look at the journey that got him there.
New Zealand’s loss is Britain’s gain
Norrie, who has a Scottish father and a Welsh mother, was born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand.
As a youngster, Norrie represented New Zealand, but despite reaching No.10 in the world junior rankings, he was overlooked for funding and his mother said at the time that the family were “very disappointed” with Tennis New Zealand’s support for him .
Thus, at the age of 17, the left-hander decided to play for Great Britain because of the better funding opportunities.
New Zealand newspapers often referred to him as “the one who got away” – an observation that grew louder with each new milestone in Norrie’s career.
It will be deafening if he 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 behind him, studying sociology at Texas Christian University.
He told BBC Sport that it gave him the chance to mature and “have a more 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 good balance and a greater sense of perspective.
That’s not to say tennis isn’t his number one priority now – he’s adamant it is, telling reporters after his quarter-final victory that he puts it first and hasn’t had a break in a long time.
But he says his time in college made him “pretty focused and pretty calm” on the court. And he’s, that’s not a rocket-crushing 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 standard Thursday night out at the bars, I returned to my dorm,” he wrote on backtheraquet.com.external-link “We all had a pretty big night and definitely a couple too many.
“I decided to ride the moped to my girlfriend, with whom we were on a date at the time. I didn’t make it 20 meters when I fell and hit my chin on the steering wheel. I left the moped on the ground, surrounded everywhere by blood.”
He told British media at Wimbledon this week that he realized he was “not making the best decisions” and going out more than he should have.
“The coaches really kicked me up to speed after that 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 of all time” in Great Britain’s Davis Cup loss to 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 the tie, which they lost 3-1, with Norrie also taking a set from Albert Ramos – Vinolas.
These were his first professional matches on red clay and the first time he went over 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 Tennys 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.
The big achievement – the title in Indian Wells
Cameron Norrie beat Nikoloz Basilashvili to win the 2021 Indian Wells title.
Norrie skipped the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to concentrate on the ATP Tour, a decision that reaped its rewards in October when he became the first Briton to win the prestigious title in Indian Wells.
The Masters 1000 event is one of the biggest titles in tennis and the victory shot him to British number one, lifted him to a career-high world ranking of 16th and put him in the running to reach the elite ATP Finals for the season .
He 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 seed for the ATP Finals and made his debut at the event after two withdrawals, losing in three sets to Norway’s Kasper Ruud and in two sets to Novak Djokovic.
His good form continued into 2022 when he won two more titles, which saw him break into the world’s top 10 in April.
Breakthrough in the Grand Slam
Despite his growing success on the ATP Tour, he hasn’t been able to translate that into deep Grand Slam success, which is why he perhaps flies under the radar for the once-a-year Wimbledon crowd.
He had reached the third round of the Australian, French and US Opens in the past few years, and also the same stage at Wimbledon in 2021, but had never reached the second week of a major until this year.
He was beaten by Roger Federer at the All England Club last year, while he also lost to Rafael Nadal at the French Open and Australian Open in the same year.
This time he faces the other member of the sport’s ‘big three’, defending champion Djokovic. But it is in the last four and after his emotional quarter-final win over David Goffen, his profile has risen sharply.
Fitness is his ‘main asset’
Norrie has earned a reputation as one of the strongest players on tour.
He has a personal best 10k time of around 36 minutes, according to Runner’s World, and his Argentinian coach Facundo Lugones said his “main asset on the physical side is his endurance”.
Speaking on Wednesday, Lugones said Nori could get his heart rate up to 200 beats per minute and maintain that “for six, seven minutes, no problem.”
“He can play not just 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 many hours and consecutive days, back to back.”
Nori even said that he would support his legs “against anyone, even Rafa [Nadal]”
Consistency and stability for trainer and “chicken”
Lugones, who has been with Nori for seven years, said he and Nori have a “great relationship” and that they are “very respectful of each other”, adding: “Off the court we talk about everything. We are friends. When we’re in tennis, really, really professionally, very seriously.”
But not always seriously. Lugones called Nori his “chicken” and explained why.
“That was a long time ago. In Argentina, when you care for someone, you refer to them as your chicken, as if you care for them,” he said.
“When I started traveling with it, all my friends would ask me, ‘How’s your chicken?’ in Spanish. That’s why I call it that. This is the reason for it.
“Now he has become a dog. He is no longer a chicken.’
Win in front of royalty
Norrie was emotional after his win over Goffen – and his family and those watching on Court 1 joined in the tears.
If the British public wasn’t too aware of Norrie by this point, then this was the moment he endeared himself, and all under the eyes of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
There was a peak TV audience of 4.5 million for the Goffen match, which isn’t bad considering the British Chancellor and Health Secretary resigned during the match.
Even more eyes are likely to be on him when he faces Djokovic on Friday.
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