Why facing Cameron Norrie is ‘almost a nightmare’ for Carlos Alcaraz

Oli Dickson Jefford 07 Jul 2025 2:14 PM

Pictured: Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie.

Carlos Alcaraz’s progression through the Wimbledon draw has been more workmanlike than spectacular.

The Spaniard is through to the last eight at the All England Club, and has now won 18 straight matches at the tournament, though he has not always been at his best.

Victory over qualifier Ollie Tarvet in round two is his only straight-sets win to date, with a five-set win over Fabio Fognini in round one, and four-set wins over Jan-Lennard Struff and Andrey Rublev in rounds three and four.

His performance against 14th seed Rublev on Sunday was arguably his best performance to date, with the Spaniard’s serve notably improved after difficulties in the opening week.

And that will give the two-time defending champion confidence going into his 12th Grand Slam quarter-final, though he now faces perhaps his most fascinating test yet.

World No 61 Cameron Norrie waits for Alcaraz in the last eight, with the Brit back in the business end of a major after a five-set win over Nicolas Jarry in the fourth round.

Fifty-nine places separate Alcaraz and Norrie in the ATP Rankings, though the 29-year-old is by far a better player than his ranking would suggest.

Norrie was ranked as high as eighth in the world back in September 2022 and is a five-time champion on the ATP Tour, including a memorable Indian Wells triumph back in 2021.

The Brit was a Wimbledon semi-finalist back in 2022, and defeated Daniil Medvedev in round one of the French Open this May, going on to reach the second week of Roland Garros for the first time.

Norrie has already beaten 12th seed Frances Tiafoe this tournament and is back inside the top 50 in the ATP Live Rankings, a well-deserved boost after an impressive run in recent weeks.

And, Alcaraz is fully aware of just how challenging his next opponent can be.

The pair have met six times, and it is the five-time Grand Slam champion who holds a 4-2 lead, including a triumph in their opening meeting at the 2021 US Open – Alcaraz’s breakout event.

However, Norrie has won two of their last three meetings, with thrilling victories at the 2022 Cincinnati Open, and in the final of the Rio Open back in 2023.

The Brit’s victory in the Rio final came just one week after Alcaraz had beaten him in the Argentina Open final, back-to-back clashes which remained their most recent meetings until now.

It has been almost two-and-a-half years since those ‘Golden Swing’ contests, though the reigning champion remains fully aware of how challenging Norrie is as a rival.

“Facing Cam is always really, really difficult,” revealed Alcaraz. “We have really difficult battles already. For me, facing him is almost a nightmare, to be honest.

“[He’s] really tough from the baseline. I’m not surprised he’s on the quarter-final playing great tennis because I’ve seen him practicing.

“When he lost at Queen’s [in June], he stayed for five days practising morning, afternoon, and night. I saw him. So I’m not surprised at all seeing his level. It’s going to be really different.

“He’s playing at home, as well, so he’s going to use the crowd to his side. I have to be really strong mentally and focused to play good tennis if I want to beat him.”

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Perhaps the biggest challenge in Norrie’s game is that he is one of the ATP’s select group of left-handers, with ‘lefties’ often thought to have a slight advantage on grass.

Alcaraz has a solid 35-10 record against left-handed players in tour-level matches, with his most recent defeat being to Jack Draper in the Indian Wells semi-final back in March.

The Spaniard has won his three matches against left-handers since then, including a revenge win over Draper in Rome, though he admits it poses a significant challenge.

He added: “I’m not that kind of player that has or needs a lefty player just to warm up or to practice.

“Obviously it’s helpful if you practice with a lefty. So tomorrow [Monday] I will try, for sure, if there is any sparring lefty available. So I will try to practice a little bit.

“[It] is always for me tricky to play against a lefty. The slice serve in the advantage side, it’s more difficult for me. Or I would say it’s more difficult for everyone, so…

“Let’s see how it’s going to be playing against Cam. I will try not to think about the lefty, the left side, or he has [an] advantage or something. I just will try to see tactically how I can play and let’s see.”

This is undoubtedly a match in which Alcaraz, riding an 18-match win streak at the Championships and a 22-match win streak in 2025. is favoured to win.

But, up against a challenging opponent – and potentially the Centre Court crowd – this quarter-final poses him with another significant test.