On the same day the most successful British male player in the Open Era announced his retirement, his 23-year-old compatriot has achieved a new milestone.
Cameron Norrie has progressed to the final of the ASB Classic in New Zealand. The world No.93 outlasted Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, in a match that lasted almost two hours. Norrie fired 17 aces past his rival, who is ranked 35 places higher than him, and crucially saved eight out of the 10 break points he faced. Closing in on the win, it was a single break at the start of the deciding set that guided him to his first ever ATP Final.
“I was really, really nervous in that last game… slightly tight, but a big thanks to the crowd for getting me through that,” Norrie told atpworldtour.com. “It’s so special… It’s my first final and to do it at home, too, it means so much to me.”
Despite representing Great Britain, Norrie has extensive history in New Zealand. He was born in South Africa to a Scottish father and Welsh mother, but moved to New Zealand as a young child. Growing up, he represented the country on the junior circuit, where he reached 10th in the world rankings, before switching allegiances to Great Britain at the age of 16.
Norrie, who received a wild card to play in the main draw, has reached the final without playing a seeded player. Prior to Struff, he scored wins over Taylor Fritz, Joao Sousa and Benoit Paire. Next up for the British No.2 will be Tennys Sandgren, who reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open last year. Sandgren dismissed Phillip Kohlschriber 6-4, 6-2, in his semi-final match.
“I trained really hard in November and December and put in a lot of good work, trying to mentally be as solid and sound as I can be, which is a problem for me sometimes. I get down on myself when things start to go wrong, get negative and beat myself up… So I’ve been working hard on that, and I feel like physically I’m the healthiest as I’ve been in over a year now.” The American world No.63 commented afterwards.
The upcoming clash will be the seventh time the players have faced each other on the tour and the first since 2017. Norrie currently leads their head-to-head 4-2 and won their three most recent matches.
“That wasn’t a lot of fun. He wasn’t my favourite guy,” Sandgren commented about his rivalry with the Brit.
The men’s final will take place on Saturday.
