In cricket, the presence of South African players in English cricket has made a big difference to the way how the game has evolved. In British Tennis, the trend seems to have caught on. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa to a family who were microbiologists. Johannesburg’s reputation as the crime capital came back to haunt him when the family was burgled. They moved to New Zealand. At the age of 16, he moved to London. Three years later, he attended Texas Forth Worth College and it was there where Cameron Norrie realised his Tennis dream.
During the 2017 ATP Tour, Cameron Norrie emerged as the brightest British Talent on the circuit since Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund. Eight months after he turned professional, Cameron Norrie was giving Great Britain Davis Cup glory. Against Roberto Bautista Agut, the man who would later trouble Novak Djokovic, he came back from two sets down to win in grand style.
In July 2017, Norrie won the Binghampton Challenger title. This was his first major success in his professional career. The earlier British stars who won this title went on to become names, notably Murray and Edmund.
Although he was making some waves in the ATP Circuit, it had not yet translated into success. Norrie was finding it hard in the Clay and Hard Courts of Europe and the USA. But, the year 2021 showed what Norrie was made off. He achieved success against the top 10 players on a regular basis. The first glimpse was in the 2020 US Open in which he defeated Diego Schwartzman in the second round.
But, in 2021, he managed to overhaul his career wins in grand style. From 2017 till 2020, he had won a total of 51 matches. He doubled that in 2021 with 52. He also became the British World Number one in that period. His most notable wins were against Dominic Thiem in the ATP Lyon open in the second round. Thiem, at that time, was ranked No.4 in the world. The success of Norrie continued in 2021 when he defeated world number five Andrey Rublev in the ATP San Diego Semifinals.
In that year, he won the ATP Tour title for the first time in Los Cabos, defeating Brandon Nakashima in straight sets. This allowed him to break into the top 30. The year only got better for Norrie when he defeated Australia’s Nick Kyrgios. In the 2021 Queen’s tournament, he defeated Denis Shapovalov enroute to the final. But, he lost to Matteo Berrettini in the final.
Norrie ended the year in grand style when he won his first ATP 1000 Masters title. He defeated big names like Tennys Sandgren, Nikolaz Basilashvilli, Grigor Dimitrov and Schwartzman to win the title.
His playing style has been described as a counter-puncher, where he has a heavy topspinning forehand but has a flat backhand. Although he may be struggling in the Grand Slams, it is only a matter of time before the 26-year-old breaks into the big leagues.
