Cameron Norrie taking inspiration from Carlos Alcaraz's crowd management ahead of Wimbledon - 'A good guy to learn from'
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Published 30/06/2023 at 15:11 GMT
Cameron Norrie will take inspiration from top seed Carlos Alcaraz's ability to use the crowd's energy to his advantage at Wimbledon. The British No. 1 says the Spaniard is a 'good guy to learn from' when it comes to getting the fans involved in a match. Norrie is bidding to emulate last year's run to the semi-finals in the third Grand Slam event of the year, which starts on Monday.
Norrie beats Thompson in three sets to reach Queen's quarter-finals
British No. 1 Cameron Norrie hopes to “learn from” fan favourite Carlos Alcaraz in his efforts to get the Wimbledon crowd behind him.
Norrie went on a run to the semi-finals in 2022 and goes into this year’s event on home turf as the 12th seed.
He will start his bid to reach a maiden Grand Slam final against qualifier Tomas Machac, but faces a tough route to the latter stages, with the likes of Sebastian Korda, Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas in his quarter of the draw.
Norrie name-checked world No. 1 Alcaraz as a role model when it comes to managing the crowd, following the Spanish sensation’s impressive victory on his Queen’s debut.
"You have to enjoy the home support and use that,” Norrie told Sky Sports News.
“You see Carlos Alcaraz enjoying it, so I think he's a good guy to learn from.
“The way he gets the crowd involved…I think I can definitely use the crowd to my advantage."
Norrie added: "I'll try and use my experiences of going deep in tournaments and knowing that I can do it plays a big part.
"A lot of younger players haven't played too many matches on the grass so it will be an interesting Wimbledon for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.”
Norrie, who fell at the quarter-final stage to Korda at Queen’s, is struggling with a knee problem leading up to Wimbledon and has been wearing protective strapping.
But the 27-year-old insists he isn’t concerned by his fitness ahead of the main draw starting on Monday.
“I’m able to practise as usual. Having some bigger days earlier in the week and then to get these matches has been great. I'm doing everything that I can to manage it.
"I think the most important thing is just to go out there and just to put it aside. I'm going to have some discomfort at some points and that's how it's going to be.
"I felt really good today and I had a great performance. I'm exactly where I want to be. It's good preparation having the matches at Queen's and here. It's my favourite time of year. I'm really enjoying my tennis and I'm hitting the ball I think as well as ever."
The Wimbledon men’s singles draw was made on Friday, with Murray pitted against fellow Brit Ryan Peniston and a blockbuster clash between Dominic Thiem and Tsitsipas among the first-round highlights.
Wimbledon begins on July 3 and culminates with the men’s singles final on July 16.
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Stream daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm UK time, as well as the two singles finals live on July 15 and 16, on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com
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