Cam Norrie on his love for No.1 Court & feeling ‘relaxed’ at Wimbledon ahead of fourth round clash
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There seems to be a special connection between former British No.1 Cam Norrie and the No.1 Court at Wimbledon.
The 2021 Indian Wells champion has had some of his best days in the sport on the iconic No.1 Court at SW19 and Norrie acknowledges that it has become his favourite venue over the last few years.
Back in 2022, it was the site of his five-set victory over David Goffin in the quarter-finals, last year he put in one of his best performances of the season to knock out British No.1 Jack Draper and so far this year, he’s beaten 12th seed Frances Tiafoe and Italian Mattia Bellucci in front of the crowd on No.1.
“I have a good record on that court,” Norrie said after a straight sets win over Bellucci. “I really like it. I don't know why. I feel like I can move really well on it.
“I think my favourite part is obviously the atmosphere and the energy and the people really get behind me on that court.
“I quite like being very close to your team. They're right there in the corner. You can pull energy from them. They're getting fired up. I quite like that.”
While it’s unclear yet which court Norrie will have to play his fourth round match against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry, the former world No.8 is ready to play and compete no matter the stage.
No matter where he plays, one thing is for sure, the British fans will be in full voice and Norrie admitted he’s been using an old Andy Murray technique to fire himself up with the crowd.
I'm just so happy to be enjoying competing. It's a bonus to be feeling the ball this well. It's a bonus to be winning these matches.
“I'll play on any court, to be honest,” he said. “I love Centre Court, too. If I'm playing my next match on Centre Court, that's great.
“I think it's important to use the crowd to your advantage. I was just pulling from random people in the crowd today, getting fired up with them. You can see they're loving it.
“I wanted to pull from the energy from not just my team but from some random people in the crowd. I've seen Andy Murray do that a lot in his matches.”
As a former semi-finalist at The Championships, Norrie knows more than most the level of interest and outside noise that goes on when a British star does well at Wimbledon.
Norrie is now the last British man left in the competition and one of two players in the fourth round of the singles – alongside Sonay Kartal.
While it may have been a mixed season for the British star – a semi-final in Geneva his best performance on the tour – Norrie has been saving his best tennis for the Grand Slams. With the spotlight on, competing on the biggest stages, Norrie isn’t paying attention to any outward pressure and is just enjoying the journey.
“To be honest, I feel really relaxed here at Wimbledon,” he said. “Amazing tournament. So much tradition. I want to just go out and compete. It's the best tournament in the world.
“I think the beginning of this year I was struggling a little bit with expectations, wanting to play well and wanting to win and wanting to do well, not really taking care of the fundamentals so much.
“I want to just keep taking care of what I can. I've come to enjoy this tournament. I want to keep doing that and keep giving people, my friends, my family, my team, something to cheer about.
“I'm not going to get too carried away with being in the fourth round. It's nice. But I'm just so happy to be enjoying competing. It's a bonus to be feeling the ball this well. It's a bonus to be winning these matches.”
Norrie will face Jarry in the Wimbledon fourth round on Sunday 6 July.
