Wimbledon: Cameron Norrie is carrying the torch alone, but the British No. 1 is confident of reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final when he faces David Goffin on Tuesday at Wimbledon.
Norrie, seeded ninth after a stellar 18 months, defeated Pablo Andujar before overcoming a two-set deficit to defeat Jaume Munar in the second round.
However, the 26-year-old has been rock solid in defeating Steve Johnson before producing his best performance of the fortnight so far in defeating American 30th seed Tommy Paul 6-4 7-5 6-4 and setting up a very winnable match against Belgian Goffin.
Following Heather Watson’s defeat on Centre Court earlier in the day, Norrie found himself in the increasingly familiar position of being the last Briton standing.
When asked if he would carry the torch alone, Norrie replied, “I’ll take it.” You guys were asking me at the start of the tournament, ‘You’re British No. 1, you’ve got a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations on your shoulders.’ It means a lot to me to have performed so well in all of my previous matches.
“Unfortunately I’m the last one standing. But I think it’s even more reason for everyone to get behind me. The atmosphere was great today and 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 there.”
Goffin is a high-level opponent when he is at his best, having been a top-10 player and now a four-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist, but he has recently been hampered by injuries.
Norrie isn’t ready to call it quits on his Wimbledon adventure just yet, saying, “It’s great to be through to the quarters.” But that’s no reason to be happy. I’d like to keep pushing.
“I’m looking forward to the next match. Another challenge. Very experienced player. There’s still a long way to go, but pretty nice to tick the box making the quarters.
“I feel like I’m improving and my level is getting better. Definitely a little bit calmer in the bigger matches. It’s nice to do it that way round.”
Goffin, 31, missed Wimbledon last year due to an ankle injury and then missed several months due to a knee injury, but he reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2019, coming through a gruelling five-set match against American Frances Tiafoe in four hours and 36 minutes.
Now, the 58th-ranked 31-year-old is looking forward to his big day on Centre Court, when he will take on Norrie and the “whole country.”
“I have another opportunity to play on Centre Court to try to have a win, finally to have a win on Centre Court. I didn’t have any chances. I had [Andy] Murray and I had [Novak] Djokovic. Not easy,” said the former world No 7.
“Another British, against Cameron. He played less than me. He played well from the start of the tournament. He played really well. He’s very consistent. He’s a tough opponent to play, but I will try to recover. That’s the most important now, today and tomorrow, try to be ready to play against the whole country.”
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