Cam Norrie’s perfect tennis player – Rafael Nadal leads one aspect ‘hands down’ but one Big Three star missing

Shahida Jacobs 28 Dec 2023 12:36 PM

Cameron Norrie and Rafael Nadal before a match

Cameron Norrie of Great Britain and Rafael Nadal of Spain shake hands

Cameron Norrie is the latest tennis star to build his perfect tennis players and while Rafael Nadal was the clear winner when it came to one particular attribute, another member of the Big Three doesn’t feature.

In the latest of the ATP Tour’s “Build Your Perfect Tennis Player” feature, Norrie was asked to select tennis stars’ according to different characteristics to come up with a player that will likely be unbeatable.

Unsurprisingly tennis greats Nadal and Novak Djokovic appear on Norrie’s list, but there was no place for Roger Federer while the British No 1 also added a couple of surprise names.

FOREHAND – Andrey Rublev

“I am going to go with Andrey Rublev. On the return when he has a short ball he is so accurate and he hits it probably the hardest out of anyone.”

BACKHAND – Andy Murray

“He has unbelievable hands, really good slice as well so I am going to take Andy.”

SERVE – Nick Kyrgios

“No justification there. For me he puts the ball toss in the perfect position every time, it is really tough to read his serve. He has every serve – kick, slice, hits the spike, he can go body huge, he has a simple motion and under pressure, it’s unreal.”

RETURN – Novak Djokovic

“The guy makes a million returns and [has] so much depth. The ball comes back every time.”

SLICE – Dan Evans

“The guy has unreal hands. Keeps the ball so low and he moves so well and defends the slice. Unbelievable.”

NET GAME – Sebastian Korda

“Every time I have played with him he is coming forward very well and he has such simple technique and is very smooth around the net. He really picks up the top volleys well. He is definitely one of the best volleyers in the world.”

SPEED – Daniil Medvedev

“I don’t think he looks that fast, but the guy gets everything and he has very long arms and legs. He gets to almost every drop shot, moving side to side I think he’s one of the best in the world. Every time he is getting there and hitting the ball deep. He’s also my favourite player so I got to put him in somewhere.”

MENTAL TOUGHNESS – Rafael Nadal

“Rafael Nadal! Hands down! Best competitor. The guy’s unreal and a joke. All the stats he’s got everything. He plays points in points out better than anyone.”

COMPETITIVENESS – Cam Norrie

“I am super competitive in anything, not just tennis. Cards, fantasy football, everything so I am going to put myself in there.”

CELEBRATION – Daniil Medvedev

“For celebration I am going to pick Daniil Medvedev because I think it is hilarious when he goes out and he chops someone up and then doesn’t react, just hits the ball over his shoulder, nothing. When he won US Open, it was the funniest thing ever when he dived like a salmon, or whatever he did. I thought it was pretty good, pretty unique, no one else is going to do that. I really like watching him win and say nothing as well.”

PASSION – Carlos Alcaraz

“The guy, for me, he loves it. He is really enjoying the matches, enjoying being out there. The guy comes up with hot shots every match he plays. The guy just loves tennis, loves competing and is just so passionate about tennis and he shows it wears it his sleeve and I love watching him do that.”