First it was Henman Hill, then Murray Mount, Raducanu Ridge and now finally Norrie Knoll.
Cameron Norrie is the last Briton standing at Wimbledon going into week two of his home Grand Slam and has called on fans to come out in force on the hill, inside Centre Court and at home to keep his run going at SW19.
The British No1 dominated his fourth-round match against Tommy Paul yesterday, leading throughout for a deserved 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory to set up a first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career.
He takes on former world No7 David Goffin for a place in the last four in what is expected to be the last match on Centre tomorrow night.
Following the demise of Heather Watson and Liam Broady over the weekend, Norrie said: “Unfortunately, I’m the last one standing but I think it’s even more reason for everyone to get behind me.”
The majority of the focus from a British perspective prior to the tournament was on both Andy Murray as a two-time champion and Emma Raducanu after her run to the fourth round and US Open title win last year.
Meanwhile, Norrie had gone relatively under the radar in comparison despite being seeded in the top 10 but has improved in every match so far at Wimbledon to take his spot in the last eight.
“At the beginning of the tournament, you guys were saying to me, ‘you’re British No1, you’ve got a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations on your shoulders,” he said. “For me to play the way that I did in all my matches so far means a lot.
“The atmosphere [against Paul]… definitely helped me get over the line there, especially on that last game. I was obviously pretty nervous. I was serving for my first quarter-final of a slam, I wanted to get it done.”
Norrie has been one of the most consistent performers on the ATP Tour this year. While he failed to shine at either the Australian or French Opens, he has climbed into the top 10 off the back of tournament wins in Delray Beach and Lyon. He has also finally ended his Grand Slam hoodoo of never making it past the third round of one of the four majors with his current Wimbledon run.
Despite the rising pressure of each round and as the last Briton left in either draw, Norrie said he was feeling increasingly comfortable on court helped by being able to dictate the tempo from start to finish against Paul.
Norrie faces a step up in class against Goffin, who edged out Frances Tiafoe in a five-set thriller in the preceding round, one of two seeds he has defeated in the men’s draw to date.
It looks likely to be battle of marathon rallies, the prospect of which Norrie said he was relishing as one of the fittest players on tour.
On facing the Belgian, he said: “I didn’t watch any of his match [against Tiafoe]. It looked like a battle – it was three or four hours.
“He’s a very experienced player, he really likes the grass, he’s played a lot of matches so it’s going to be tough. He’s a great competitor, really good athlete. He’s got a very complete game.
“He must be playing well so it’s going to be a very tricky one. He’s been in the situation more than me but I’m looking forward to it. It’s another battle.
“I know that I’m going to get into a lot of rallies with him. He’s not going to come and serve me off the court, which is good. It’s going to be another physical match, which is great for me. I’m looking forward to competing. It’s going to be another huge challenge.”
