Cameron Norrie hopes his plan to play a packed schedule during the last quarter of this season will pay off as he targets a place in the prestigious ATP Tour Finals.
The Wimbledon semi-finalist is set to play five tournaments over the next six weeks in a bid to generate as many ranking points as possible. Norrie is currently eighth in the world rankings but he is in 11th place on the Race to Milan standings which are based on a player’s performance over 52 weeks. Only the top eight will qualify for the ATP Finals which has a prize money pool of more than $7M.
Norrie will return to action this week at the Korean Open in Seoul where he will be the second seed in the draw after Casper Ruud. He will then play events in Japan, Sweden, Austria and France.
“For me, I’m going to make a big push for Turin,” Norrie said.
“I think I’m knocking on the door there. I’m 11 or 12 in the race at the moment, so I’m going to try and make a big push there.
“I’m going to Seoul, Tokyo, (have) a week off, Stockholm, Vienna, Paris, so a pretty full schedule.
“A lot of points on the line, and a lot of tennis to be played, but yeah, like I said, I want to just go all in to try and make Turin.”
Norrie made his ATP Finals debut last year as a replacement for Stefanos Tsitsipas who pulled out after his first match due to injury. He played two matches in the round-robin stage, falling in straight sets to Novak Djokovic before pushing Ruud to three sets before losing.
So far this season the 27-year-old has achieved a win-loss record of 45-23, winning titles in Lyon and Delray Beach. At Wimbledon, he reached the last four before losing to Novak Djokovic in what is his best-ever run at a Grand Slam tournament. Against top 10 opposition, he has recorded three wins against eight losses so far this year.
Norrie believes one explanation for his lacklustre record against top 10 players could be down to how he starts matches. Admitting that he can’t afford to get off slowly against the best in the world if he wants to beat them.
“I think there are only a couple of players or a handful of players that have won more matches or played more matches than me this year. There is no reason I should play a loose game to start and then have these flat starts, but the good news is I’m always finding a way into the match, and I’m always giving myself the best chance,” he said.
“Guys I’m trying to beat, like Novak (Djokovic), Stefanos (Tsitsipas) and Casper (Ruud), they always play very complete matches on their serve. I can’t afford to do that and have a slow start or play a loose game here and there against those guys, especially with my game style.”
In his opening match at the Korean Open, Norrie will play Japan’s Kaichi Uchida. He is aiming to win his fifth Tour title and his first in Asia.
