Cameron Norrie revealed his new plan for 2024 to Tennis365 – and he is executing it to perfection
Cameron Norrie opened up on his ambitions for 2024 in an exclusive interview with Tennis365 in November and now he is executing that plan to perfection.
Norrie had never beaten a player ranked as high as world number 11 Casper Ruud at a major tournament and had lost all three previous matches against the Norwegian, who is a three-time Grand Slam finalist.
Flying the flag alone for Britain in the singles once more, Norrie played with purpose and courage to claim a thrilling 6-4 6-7 (7) 6-4 6-3 victory.
Normally known as a baseline grinder, Norrie came to the net 56 times during the contest and cracked 63 winners and this was very much part of a plan he outlined to us at a Lexus event at the National Tennis Centre in November.
A week after Norrie lost against Novak Djokovic at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, the British No 1 sat down for an exclusive interview with Tennis365 and had a plan in mind that would change the direction of his career after a disappointing end to the 2023 season.
“I’m going to do a lot of work on my serve,” Norrie told us as he started his pre-season plans.
“That is going to be a big goal, especially after coming off the court against Novak (in the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga). Seeing how well he managed his service games and how well he was hiding his spots, was crazy for me. I think I got to 30 once on his serve and I feel like I was returning well.
“If I could manage my service games like he does it would be nice.
“I also want to be more aggressive on court. Taking control of points and making things happen without waiting for them. That’s what I’m working on. You need to be brave to execute a plan and that’s what I need to do.
“There are two ways you can get confidence. Either on the practice court or on the match court. I feel I was practising really well at the back end of the year, but I lost a couple of tight matches in China.
“If you win those ones, you start to get momentum and things start happening. I was very close to catching that wave, but credit to my opponents in some big scenarios.
“I lost in the third set in Shanghai and then lost in Beijing against (Andrey) Rublev. I was playing against the top guys and those matches were close, so I know I don’t have to change too much to turn things in my favour.”
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Victory over Ruud should ensure Norrie returns to the top 20 of the ATP rankings at the end of the Australian Open and he suggested the victory against the Norwegian may have been his best in a Grand Slam.
“In terms of performances, it was up there with one of my best,” he added. “Losing that second set, a few set points, and he served really well. I came out with a lot of energy. Then down a break in the third. Managed to stay really tough.
“I was committed to the game plan and I loved it. I played really well today. Good day.”
“I really had to be brave tactically against Casper. I had to really execute. It’s not easy to do that. I managed to do that.
“It depends who I play. I think the tactics are always interesting but it was really good to know I had that in there.”
Ruud admitted Norrie had taken him by surprise, saying: “He changed a few things since the three previous matches that we played and he played better today.
“I didn’t go off the court thinking I played bad, I just was a little hesitant and didn’t hit with good enough depth but he took advantage and came in and rushed me.”
Norrie faces a huge test in the last-16, as he takes on an improving Alexander Zverev following the German’s 6-2 7-6(4) 6-2 win against American Alex Michelsen.
