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British tennis fans had a lot to cheer at Wimbledon this year, with a number of players providing entertainment for the home fans. None impressed more than Cam Norrie, the 26-year-old reached the semi-finals, taking the first set before losing in four to Novak Djokovic.
It certainly felt like a coming-of-age moment for Norrie, who has been in strong form in recent years. He has made nine finals since the beginning of 2021 and, although he lost the first three, he won four of the next six. Most impressive is his three-set victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili, to win the 2021 Indian Wells. Winning a Masters 1000 event was a major feather in Norrie’s cap, and 2021 saw him winning in 68% of his matches on tour.
It was the most successful season his career, with Norrie struggling to win more than 50% of his matches in previous years. That good form saw him rewarded with a year-end ranking of 12th, and Norrie had announced his arrival at the top table of men’s tennis.
It’s no surprise then that Norrie has ranked well in betting uk markets this year, and his win percentage, in the high 60s, shows he’s maintaining that form. He reached the quarter-final stage of Indian Wells this year, losing in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz, but that’s the only Masters 1000 event this year where he’s made it past the fourth round.
Many were cautiously optimistic about how Norrie would perform at Wimbledon, with the South Africa-born player very much at home in SW19. His record in Grand Slam tournaments was something of question mark up until this year. He’d made the third round of every Slam, doing so in the Australian Open and Wimbledon last year.
He also reached the third round at Roland-Garros in 2021, and repeated that this year, while managing to reach the third round of the US Open towards the end of 2020. However, Norrie had never made it past that point and, despite being very highly ranked, he had never featured in the second week of a Slam.
Needless to say, that changed this year. His straight sets victory over Pablo Andújar in the first round was expected. That was followed with a five sets win over Jaume Munar in the next round. After winning the first set, Norrie dropped the next two. He hung in the match however, and managed to pick up the final two to get through to the third round.
He had managed a bagel in each of his first two matches, and he did the same as he dispatched Steve Johnson 6-4 6-1 6-0 in the third round, the type of comfortable victory that was exactly what he needed after the challenge of Jaume Munar. It set up a fourth-round clash against Tommy Paul and, after knocking out two Spaniards, he went on to knock out two Americans, dealing with Paul in straight sets.
Norrie edged past Goffin in their quarter-final, three sets to two, before Djokovic proved a bridge too far. While reaching the semi-final of a Slam is an impressive performance for Norrie, many will be wondering whether this is a one-time event, or something to expect in future.
There’s no doubting Norrie’s quality, he’s in the top 15 for a reason, and he certainly has the potential to spend the peak of his career as a top 10 player. He may not be an eye-catching presence on the court in the same way others are, but he has a solid, well-rounded game that allows him to perform consistently.
Fans will be hoping that his Wimbledon performance will be the moment that Norrie kicks on and, given the solid, consistent growth he has managed so far during his career, that’s a very realistic prospect. While it remains to be seen whether the Brit will ever truly challenge for Slams, the sight of Cam Norrie in the latter stages of big tournaments is something that the tennis world should get used to.
