Norrie is the last British man standing at Wimbledon - but he's just having fun
By James Toney at Wimbledon
Cameron Norrie is now centre stage at Wimbledon — just keep him off Centre Court.
Norrie is the last British man standing at the All England Club, following a 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 third-round win over the Italian Mattia Bellucci. But if being the sole standard-bearer adds pressure, he is doing a very good job of deflecting it.
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British players are not meant to have fun here. These are days to be endured, not enjoyed — crippled by the weight of national expectation. They could scale the heights of their sport in the other 50 weeks of the year, but if they frustrate during this fortnight, be ready for the rage.
Norrie is bucking the trend, his bright white smile matching his bright white shorts as he grinned his way into the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the fourth time in his career.
'I'll play on any court, but that's my vibe out there on No.1, the crowd got loud in every big moment, and I felt it really changed the momentum in the match," he said.
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'I'm really relaxed at this tournament. I'm not clouding my mind with stuff — I'm just trying to use the crowd to my advantage. I want to give them something to cheer about, and hopefully they know they've played a part in this win.
'I was hitting the ball really cleanly, though perhaps I started a bit overconfident. I stole that first set with a really good tie-break, and I just needed to weather the storm when I had to.
'The thing I'm most proud of is how I'm enjoying my tennis, and perhaps the experience did pay off. I'm here to compete and it feels a bit like 2022 — but there's still a long way to go. It was a solid match, nothing to get too carried away with.'
He enjoyed a strong clay-court campaign, reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros and the semi-final in Geneva, where he ran into Novak Djokovic on both occasions.
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Grass is meant to be his surface, but first-round defeats at Queen's and Eastbourne did not offer much cause for confidence as he returned to the All England Club, where his semi-final run three years ago remains his best result at a major.
He went down an early break but stayed composed to edge a narrow first-set tie-break — a brilliantly threaded passing shot when things were tight proved the sliding-doors moment in the match.
The British No 3 extended that advantage in a quick-fire second set and, ultimately, his experience proved the difference.
Bellucci had only one Grand Slam win in five appearances prior to this year's Wimbledon, and a comeback always appeared distinctly unlikely. The Italian has never played a five-set match.
Norrie was starting to enjoy himself, swinging freely, his confidence clearly buoyed by a second-round win over the French 12th seed Frances Tiafoe.
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Next up is Chile's Nicolás Jarry, a one-time top-16 player who has plummeted down the world rankings after an ear infection left him with significant balance issues. He won their only previous meeting, but that was seven years ago.
'He's one of the most dangerous players on the tour when he's confident. He's come through qualifying — he's got nothing to lose.
'He's got one of the best serves on tour and really likes the grass. He's beaten a top-ten player in Holger Rune and just taken out one of the best young players around in João Fonseca.
'At the start of the year I think I was struggling with expectations and forgetting the fundamentals. I'm changing nothing because I'm feeling good. I want to keep giving people something to cheer about — and I'm not getting too carried away.'
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It's a little harder to manage expectation when you are Carlos Alcaraz, seeking to join Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic - the only other players to win three on the spin in the modern era.
He's not quite hit top levels but even underpowered he beat Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 with the dangerous Andrey Rublev next up.
"That was stressful, I was suffering in every service game, he was really pushing me and it became about survival," he said.
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website.
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