Cameron Norrie believes he has “earned the right” to be on the Wimbledon show courts, after securing his place in the second round.
Twelve months ago, the British No1 was first on Court No2 when beginning his SW19 campaign, the start of a run that led to the semi-finals and, after winning the first set, defeat in four to Novak Djokovic.
This time, Norrie got his bid for Wimbledon glory up and running under the roof of Court No1, the 12th seed overcoming some tricky moments against qualifier Tomas Machac to seal a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
The 27-year-old followed straight-sets wins for world No1 Carlos Alcaraz and last year’s beaten finalist Ons Jabeur on the order of play, a big stage that Norrie is certainly welcoming.
“I felt that I earned the right to play on that court, and I was able to hit on that court before I played, so I think that was a good advantage,” he said.
Norrie’s court booking was a particularly welcome one on a rainy Tuesday, with barely an hour of play possible on the outside courts.
One of the 87 singles matches scheduled for today will decide Norrie’s second-round opponent, with Christopher Eubanks and Thiago Monteiro finally set to meet.
Beyond that, 22nd seed Sebastian Korda could wait in the third round, though rain has meant the American is yet to play a point this week.
While most players in the draw have spent the opening two days of the tournament dreading the sight of umbrellas and covers, and must now play catch-up, the only inconvenience to Norrie has been a slightly noisy Court No1, as the roof kept the extended downpours at bay.
“That’s for me such a big advantage to win, first of all, and to finish my match and know exactly that I’m going to play,” Norrie said. “I looked at the weather this morning and I knew it was raining. I knew I could plan as per usual to play.”
Norrie admitted ahead of the tournament that he has to accept “discomfort” in his knee and once again wore strapping against Machac. He showed no signs of being hampered by injury, though, in the two and a half hours he was on court.
“It’s bothered me a little bit, but today it felt great,” Norrie insisted. “I’m managing it as best that I can and have a good team around me doing that. But, yeah, it’s feeling better.”
