The All England Club are notoriously strict when it comes to their membership criteria. So when Cameron Norrie got his approval he chose to make the most of it.
The Brit was recently confirmed as a member at Wimbledon following his run at the tournament 12 months ago. Last year Norrie reached the semi-finals and took a set off Novak Djokovic before losing in what remains his best-ever run at a Grand Slam tournament. At the three other major events, he has only reached the fourth round once.
As for his impressions of the club, Norrie has high praise for the facilities of the venue which makes him feel ‘special‘ when he visits. He is not the only active player who comes to the AELTC outside of Wimbledon time. Another notable visitor is two-time champion Andy Muray.
“The food is so good here, even outside of the tournament. Me and my fitness trainer really like the gym. Obviously to practise here one day was great, too.” Norrie told reporters on Sunday.
“I just got my membership, so it was cool to use that. It’s such a nice club. It’s almost worth coming here just to have a shower and just to enjoy, the showers they have are so good.
“It feels so special. I think even more so when the tournament is not even on. Not many people are around. The facilities are obviously so good. You get treated like someone really special.”
As the highest-ranked home player in the draw, Norrie is aware that there will be a lot of expectations placed on his shoulders. Although he is not fazed by this prospect. Instead, he believes he is capable of another deep run.
“There’s no reason why I can’t do it again. I’m playing well and hitting the ball really well. Having that run last year gave me a lot of confidence going into this year,” he said.
“But it all starts again. You have to take it match by match. There is still a long way to go. There are so many good players on this surface. Yeah, the draw’s stacked. I’m going to have to keep improving match by match.”
So far this year, the 27-year-old has registered a 31-12 win-loss record on the Tour and won the Rio Open. Even more significant is that he has won four out of his six meetings against top 10 players.
Norrie will begin his campaign on Tuesday against Czech qualifier Tomas Machac who has only won two Grand Slam main draw matches so far in his career. It will be the first time they have locked horns on the Tour but they have previously watched each other play in the Davis Cup.
“I think it’s going to be a tricky one. I know I’m going to get a lot of rhythm. I think it’s a good one for me.” He said of the upcoming encounter.
“I’m looking forward to a good challenge. Just going to be a tough one and I have to play great.”
So far in his career, Norrie has won 26 out of 48 matches played at Grand Slam level.
