There are stealth planes that have flown less under the radar than Cameron Norrie has at Wimbledon over the years. But midway through American journeyman Steve Johnson’s quiet destruction of British No.1, something changed. People began to rise to their feet. They shake their fists. Make noise.
And as the decibel levels rose, so did the increasingly rowdy crowd with another chant: “Nori! Nori! Nori! Oh! Oh! Oh!” It was a sound of joy, but also of acceptance.
It took a while. The fact that Norrie was born in Johannesburg to a Scottish father and a Welsh mother – and then spent the first 16 years of his life in New Zealand – may have played a role. Its late development and the pandemic also meant it took some time to get through.
But Norrie certainly has now after destroying Johnson 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time.
“I played really well today and I enjoyed it,” Norrie said. “It was great to see the reaction from the crowd and it definitely added to the atmosphere of the game.” Asked directly about the chant, he broke into a smile. “It was pretty funny, to be honest,” he replied. “I don’t know why I thought, every time they sang it, I broke the serve. That’s a good sign – I’m a bit superstitious. But when you have the momentum and everything is going the way you like it, it can help. I will definitely take it.
“On the other hand, if I was down in the score, they can beat me. I try to use it to my advantage as much as I can. It was good fun there.’
Norrie also addressed his background, pointing out that he lived in London before and after going to college in the US. “I’m very rarely in New Zealand,” he added. “For the last five years, obviously, I haven’t been with tennis. I really feel good in London.” It certainly seems that way. And suddenly, Norrie can see a path to the semi-finals that looks a lot more manageable than he could have believed. Next up is American No. 30 seed Tommy Paul, who is enjoying a strong grass court season. Then it will likely be 23rd seed Francis Tiafoe.
Cameron Norrie connects with a forehand en route to a straight set win over Steve Johnson. Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters
Both games are likely to be coin tosses. But they can also be earned. “It’s going to be a battle for sure,” he said. “Tommy won really comfortably today. I think grass is probably his best surface. He seems really closed off and really likes the grass. It’s going to be really tough whether the draw is open or not.
“At the end of the day, I’ll take it. I train with Tommy. He is my good friend. We’ve actually trained maybe two or three times here at Wimbledon. We know our game very well. Good friends off the court. But we’ll both put that aside on Sunday.
One of the constant themes in that first week was how slowly center court filled to near capacity. Here, however, it was particularly evident. The old arena – which is celebrating its centenary this year – was still half-full 20 minutes into the match.
Those who came early would have noticed that Norrie was by far the better player early on, only to fail to capitalize on the double break opportunities at 2-1 and 3-2. The fifth break point also went begging at 5-4, 40-15 on Johnson’s serve. But moments later a runaway winner brought the crowd to their feet as Norrie took the first set after 41 minutes.
Grass is Johnson’s best surface and the only one on which he has a positive win-loss record. But when he was broken early in the second set, his shoulders began to slump and his heart was no longer in it as Norrie raced to a two-set lead.
Unlike most of the big names in tennis, Norrie doesn’t possess any truly monstrous weapons. His serve does not tear the opponent’s heart out. His groundstrokes – heavy topspin forehand and flat backhand – are more accurate than powerful. Yet what he has more than most is supreme fitness. It was never better illustrated than at 1-1 in the second set, when he not only came back to recover a lob but did it so quickly that he had time to put Johnson on the defensive with his follow-up.
Norrie had no intention of removing his foot from Johnson’s throat. A break right away early in the third was followed by another and suddenly he was up 3-0 and saw the finish line. Towards the end, one fan yelled “We love you Cameron.” He smiled back. And then the job was done.
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