“I’m just enjoying my tennis” - How Cam Norrie is getting back to his best to reach his second Wimbledon quarter-final
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Last Brit standing, Cam Norrie is getting back to playing the kind of tennis he loves – battling out in front of loud British crowds on No.1 Court at Wimbledon.
Losing a two-set lead after missing out on a match point opportunity would be enough to rock the confidence of even the most experienced player but the British No.3 dug deep, channelling the crowd to pull him through the final set to take the win 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-3.
His reward for coming through such a tough battle? A quarter-final clash with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Norrie is relishing the chance to be back competing with the world’s best on the biggest stages.
The last time the Brit reached this stage of the competition was in 2022 – the same year he made it to the semi-finals he lost to the eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Since then, it’s been a challenging time for the Brit, who has dropped from a career-high ranking of world No.8 to outside the top 50. However, his run at The Championships this year will see him take another step towards the top and will re-claim his spot as British No.2 when the rankings update.
“I've never fell to the floor in a match, and I think it was just how tough it was to get there” the Brit reflected after his vintage performance. “I was playing unreal, knocking on the door in the third set. He was there playing, fighting right until the last point. I had to play another huge point, another good point to win it.
“It feels a little bit better and well more deserved coming back from the injury and kind of coming back and trying to push back into the top of the game.
“All the hard work and everything, it's paid off. I've been a dedicated professional and (have a) good team around me. These moments, it's the icing on the cake. It was a well-deserved fall to the floor I think.”
Since 2022, Norre’s form on grass outside of Wimbledon has been inconsistent with just 4 wins on the surface. Leading up to this year’s tournament, his grass season was short and sweet with first round exits at both the HSBC Championships and the Lexus Eastbourne Open.
However, his fate seems to change when he gets in front of the crowd at SW19 – the Brit has bagged 12 wins here in four years, with eight of those coming on his favourite No.1 Court.
“The crowd is involved, and the crowd was on my side today. I really tried to use that.
“There's so many different parts to the game of tennis with momentum and energy and different moments in the matches with tie-breaks, with break points. It's a lot of fun, and I'm enjoying all aspects of it.
“I think the crowd knows that I like the atmosphere being loud, and especially there was a few moments in the match where they just got really loud in a 0-30, in the tiebreak. You can feel the energy coming back to you. So it's so good.”
Despite having the hopes of the nation resting on his shoulders, the British No.3 isn’t paying much attention to the hype around being the last Brit standing but hopes to have some company in the later stages of the Slam in the future.
“I'm not really caring too much if I'm the last Brit standing or if they're all here. It would be nice to have a few more to kind of deflect and have lots of people to cheer for, and I think in years to come it's going to be the case.
“I'm just taking care of my business and really enjoying my tennis at the moment. It is what it is with that.”
I think the crowd knows that I like the atmosphere being loud, and especially there was a few moments in the match where they just got really loud... You can feel the energy coming back to you. So it's so good.
Alcaraz currently leads their head-to-head 4-2 but it was Norrie who came out on top in their last meeting at the Rio Open final in 2023 where the Brit fought back from a set down to take the title. The two-time defending champion knows he faces a tough opponent in Norrie and is looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“For me facing him is almost a nightmare, to be honest” the Spaniard admitted after his fourth round match. “Really tough from the baseline. I'm not surprised he's in the quarter-final playing great tennis because I've seen him practicing.
“He's playing at home, as well, so he's going to use the crowd. I have to be really strong mentally and focused to play a good tennis if I want to beat him.”
Norrie is ready to go toe-to-toe with the five-time Grand Slam champion as he aims to continue playing his style of tennis in a bid to reach the last four.
“I think it only gets tougher from now. There's still lots of matches to be played and lots of matches to be won.
“I'm going to play point-for-point as always, and I'm really happy with how I pulled up after the match. My body feels good, and I'm in a good place.”
How to watch Cam Norrie vs Carlos Alcaraz
Cam Norrie will take on Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon quarter-finals second on Centre Court on Tuesday 8 July 2025.
You can watch the match live across the BBC, including on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport.
Follow along with all the British results and updates, including Norrie’s matches here:
