By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Novak Djokovic [1] def Cameron Norrie [9] 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4
- Cameron Norrie praised the atmosphere of Centre Court after his four set defeat
- Norrie admits he can be ‘proud’ of his performance but wants to learn more as he sets ambitious future
LONDON, ENGLAND – Cameron Norrie praised the Centre Court atmosphere and admitted he was proud of his performance in the four set defeat to Novak Djokovic.
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It wasn’t to be for Cameron Norrie as his Wimbledon journey ended at the semi-final stage after a four set defeat to Novak Djokovic. Norrie took advantage of early nerves from the defending champion as he played sensational tennis to break the top seed three times taking the opening set 6-2.
However a missed volley in the eighth game of the second set was the turning point of the match as Djokovic grew stronger as the match went on as his relentless defence grinded out Norrie. In the end the top seed reached a ninth Wimbledon final in controlling fashion as the Brit couldn’t get back into the match with Djokovic now facing Nick Kyrgios for the title.
Despite the defeat it has been a positive couple of weeks for Norrie who reached his first grand slam semi-final. After the match in his press conference the Brit admitted he is proud of his performance and tournament but has lots of things to learn:
“I think a lot of stuff to be proud of. Coming in here pretty highly seeded, a lot of expectations from everyone around the country – and from myself especially,” Norrie said.
“For me, I went out there and there was a lot of pressure on me to win. I had good chances to win. So for me to come out and serve out sets, serve out matches, and have the nerve to do that, to have the level of focus, just overall it was a lot of fun doing that.
“I’m really happy with the way I executed this week. I think I didn’t do as well of that today. But whatever court they put me on I’m happy with. But, I mean, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s nice to do it and experience it. Loved it, loved every moment of it. I think I need to keep working hard and still got a lot of things I can improve on my game.
“Yeah, great experience. I can take a lot of confidence from it. To reach the semis, reach the Friday of the second week, is pretty sick. But I think for me, I want to go more and I want to do more of that and go one further and try to win a slam. A lot of good learning for me.”
It’s clear by the way he answered the questions and the reflective answers that Norrie is disappointed to have lost today but there is a lot of learning points and experience that the Brit can use to make more grand slam semi-finals in the future.
‘A great atmosphere’
One thing Norrie noticeably smiled at during his press conference was talking about the atmosphere on Centre Court and over the two weeks. The crowd erupted after taking the opening set and kept being the energetic spark for the Brit to never give up even when the Serb was in control of the match. It would have been easy for Norrie to concede the double break deficit in the fourth set but the Brit was inspired by the crowd to keep fighting as he pushed Djokovic to his limits.
After the match Norrie praised the atmosphere and was something that he will take with him for the rest of his life:
“It was a great atmosphere, especially right from the start I managed to break then,” Norrie happily told the press.
“The crowd was obviously way behind me. I think I, for the most part, used it to my advantage. I think a couple times there at the end it looked like he was getting a bit distracted with the crowd. Yeah, it was a great atmosphere, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere, enjoyed the match.
“Obviously not the result that I wanted. A little bit disappointing in terms of the way I executed in a few parts. But, yeah, it was nice to start with a break, to start with good energy. I started hitting the ball the way that I left off against Goffin, so it was a good start.
“Everyone is chanting things, shouting out things. I think it’s probably the first time in this country, here and around Wimbledon, that I think people have gotten to know me a little bit more and the way I play, the way I operate on the court.
“I think it’s given a lot of people something to cheer about. They love that. It’s been a pretty crazy fortnight for me. It’s been, yeah, like I said, a lot of fun. I’m glad that I’m giving them something to cheer about and something to talk about and something to get excited about.”
The energy that the Centre Court crowd brought is something that Norrie will look to capitalise on ahead of the rest of the season. Next for Norrie is the US hard court swing which in a normal season would mean he would enter it as the world number eight due to his performance at SW19.
However there were no ranking points on offer and although Norrie said it doesn’t effect him much, he does have sympathy with players outside the top 100:
“It would be nice to have that and nice to have that blanket of being back well inside the top 10, reaching a new career high, ticking the box, doing that,” Norrie admitted.
“But for me it changes absolutely nothing. I’m still playing all the tournaments. I’m still ranked – I don’t even know what I’m going to be ranked after that – 11, 10 I think. Changes nothing. I’m still going to be seeded highly and still going to be in every tournament.
“What’s really tough is the players just outside the top hundred and guys like Liam Broady who made the third round, and Alastair Gray, who would now be in slam quallies. For me it doesn’t change too much. But I think towards the back there, just outside top hundred, just outside top 200, it’s tough for some players that did well here, won a couple matches.”
Norrie’s next scheduled tournament is in Atlanta which takes place on the 25 July.
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