Cameron Norrie wants to be kept off Centre Court and remain on a raucous No 1 Court when he aims to become only the third British man in more than 50 years to reach a second Wimbledon quarter-final.
After losing in a four-set semi-final against Novak Djokovic in 2022, the unassuming Norrie is not just the last British man standing this year at Wimbledon but he is now one match away from joining only Tim Henman and Andy Murray in reaching the last eight at SW19 again.
Norrie has never received – or sought – the sort of star billing that followed Murray and Henman as they lit up Wimbledon but, after also winning on No 1 Court two days earlier, admitted that he was inspired by the crowd during a rocky start to his straight-sets defeat of Mattia Bellucci.
“In every big moment you got loud – it was a big factor in the match,” Norrie told the fans before baulking at the prospect of being ‘upgraded’ to the world’s most famous tennis court.
“Hopefully, I can play the next match on here. Hopefully, I can play all my matches on here.I love Centre Court, too. If I’m playing my next match on Centre Court, that’s great. [But] I feel there’s the tendency to be a little bit more respectful on that Centre Court in terms of energy.Your team is further away. I think typically in the past, the Centre Court has also been a bit quicker and the ball sliding through a little bit more.”
Norrie has only been beaten once on No 1 Court – in 2023 against Christopher Eubanks – and said that he drew on past wins in the same surroundings against the likes of Jack Draper, David Goffin and Tommy Paul.
“My favourite part is the atmosphere and the energy,” said Norrie. “I quite like being very close to your team. You can pull energy from them. They’re getting fired up. Court One is definitely my kind of vibe.Friday afternoon, people had a few drinks.
“I think they quite like it when you look at them and get fired up. They feel like they’ve played a part in the win. I wanted to pull from the energy, not just my team, but from some random people in the crowd. I’ve seen Andy Murray do that a lot in his matches.”
Against an opponent with a bigger serve and greater power from both wings, Norrie was at his indomitable best here in somehow winning a 68-minute marathon first set after frequently flirting with falling down by two breaks of serve.
In what was an exhibition of defensive excellence, he had survived six further break points even after losing the first game on his serve to love before prevailing 7-5 in the tie-break.
Bellucci was being gradually ground down and, when the 24-year-old Italian then began the second set with two double-faults to immediately lose serve, it was clear that the tide had been decisively turned. “I definitely stole that first set,” said Norrie. “He was a little bit up and down. I tried to stay as solid as I could, ride the waves and weather the storm.”
Concentration and consistency are Norrie’s biggest strengths but, as Bellucci wilted against an opponent who resembled a rebound wall, the British No 3’s powers of placement and variety became equally eye-catching. A double-handed backhand winner to set up set point in the first-set tie-break completed one of the best rallies of the tournament and sparked a huge guttural roar inside a patriotic No 1 Court.
There was then a flash of brilliance to break serve in the third game of the third set when, having defended from a seemingly impossible position at the back of the court, Norrie stepped forward with another rasping winner.
The only brief let-up came when Bellucci recovered from 5-1 down in the third set to 5-3 before Norrie broke back again to seal his 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 triumph. A very winnable last-16 match against Chile’s Nicolas Jarry now stands between Norrie, whose ranking had fallen to 61 from a career-high eighth in 2022, and another quarter-final.
“It just feels like when I made the run [in 2022],” said Norrie. “The weather was so sunny, I was playing on Court One a lot. I feel really relaxed… as a kid you dream of playing at Wimbledon. If I’d seen myself as a kid, I’d be really proud.”
