Cameron Norrie’s Wimbledon and being a British tennis player on the fringes

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THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, LONDON — Cameron Norrie leading Novak Djokovic by a set in a Wimbledon semifinal feels like a trick of the mind.

But a scouring of the record books confirms that it wasn’t a weird fever dream. It was the somewhat strange 2022 edition, when Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned and there were no ranking points, but Norrie, a British player on Centre Court, two sets away from the Wimbledon final? Shouldn’t that have been a bigger deal? Shouldn’t it have put him into the country’s sporting mind?

Three years on, Norrie is again the last Brit standing at Wimbledon, and is again going under the radar. He beat Chile’s Nicolás Jarry Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals, and he will play two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court in what should, in theory, be a monumental occasion. Tim Henman and Andy Murray’s deep Wimbledon runs were national events. Norrie’s is not, at least not yet — and it hasn’t been since before the tournament started.

All the talk then was about world No. 4 Jack Draper. Emma Raducanu’s Friday-night date with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka sucked up all the oxygen for the weekend. And even on Sunday, it was relative newcomer Sonay Kartal who captured the imagination more than Norrie, especially as her match became the story of the day after the electronic line calling (ELC) was deactivated in error on what proved to be a crucial point.

Norrie, once again, has proved the most durable and outlasted them all. Only once in the last five Wimbledons has a British man gone further than him, but he has played on Centre Court just four times in those five tournaments. Only three other British men have reached multiple Wimbledon quarterfinals in the Open Era, which began in 1968.

Norrie has reached the last eight without playing on Centre Court this year. He loves the atmosphere on No. 1 Court, where he has won nine of his last 10 matches, though says he doesn’t specifically request it. His 2022 run began on No. 2 Court, despite him being a home player in the world’s top 10, and he brushed aside questions about whether he was bothered by his relatively low profile throughout that run.

Novak Djokovic applauds Cameron Norrie during their Wimbledon semifinal in 2022. (Ryan Pierse / Getty Images)

He still provided exhilarating moments during his Wimbledon successes the past few years. He won two thrilling five-set matches on No. 1 Court in 2022 over Jaume Munar and David Goffin, the latter setting up the semifinal against Djokovic. This year’s win over Jarry, also in five sets, took nearly four hours and 30 minutes, with a captivating mixture of conflict between the two players and hard-fought points. All three had the kind of undulating drama that matches involving Henman and then Murray so often had, which have now been memorialized in the British tennis memory.

But where Henman was educated at a public school in Surrey, with a father who is a member of the All England Club, Norrie is much more of an outsider. Born in South Africa to a Scottish dad and Welsh mom, he was raised in New Zealand and, after a few years back in the UK, he went to Texas Christian University in the U.S. to develop his tennis. He moved to Monaco in late 2022, a few months after reaching the Wimbledon semis.

Murray too had an outsider vibe, but his ascent to the top of tennis and two Wimbledon titles, as well as transition from a divisive character to a national treasure, made him impossible to ignore. More comparable players for Norrie would be Greg Rusedski and Johanna Konta. The former was a quarterfinalist here and a U.S. Open finalist while the latter reached a Wimbledon semifinal like Norrie. They also share Norrie’s multi-nationality: Konta was born in Australia to Hungarian parents, while Rusedski’s dad was Canadian and he played under the country’s flag until he was 21. Someone like Draper, raised in Surrey, an alumnus of Henman’s school, and who looks like he could come from a British tennis player central casting agency, is an easier hero to acquire for the relatively conservative British tennis heartlands.

Norrie also emerged almost fully formed, with little sense of a rise for the public to grasp. He made his Wimbledon debut at 22, far more mature than most Brits who make their bow at the All England Club as teenagers with wild cards and a dream. By the time he returned a year later, Norrie was in the world’s top 100 and had become the hard-working, reliable player he has remained. He was ranked No. 75 then and he’s No. 61 now, though that will go up substantially next week when the rankings update.

In between, he has been as high as No. 8 and has won a ATP 1,000 title — the rung below the Grand Slams — at Indian Wells in 2021. He’s reached the fourth round of all the other majors. But along with his lack of visible rise, he gives little away and prefers to work under the radar. His game, more functional than flash, has a similar effect. Three years ago, during his semifinal run, he cycled into Wimbledon from his home in Putney every day. Now that he lives in Monaco, a tax haven not exactly known for its everyman vibe, even that has gone away.

None of this is likely to change for Norrie, who turns 30 next month. But maybe that’s fine. His relationship with the British tennis public may not last but that doesn’t mean it can’t be an exciting summer fling. Some wonderful moments but no strings attached. Maybe meet again, same place, same time next year. If not, no bother — both parties can just enjoy it for what it is.

Starting, and possibly ending for now, with that date Tuesday afternoon on Centre Court.

(Top photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

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