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'It’s all the first hour...': Tennis legend backs Cameron Norrie to beat Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon semi-final
Norrie will have the weight of Wimbledon’s support behind him, as the hometown favourite, but will have to dig deeper to produce a result against someone who hasn’t lost at Wimbledon since 2016.
Cameron Norrie is coming off the back of a gruelling 3-6 7-5 2-6 6-3 7-5 quarterfinal victory against David Goffin, an opponent who excels at making the extra ball, and doesn’t allow easy winners. The task only gets more difficult for the Brit, as waiting for him in the semifinals is a player who has perfected that art — number one seed Novak Djokovic, six-time Wimbledon champion, and one of the greatest players in the history of tennis. Also Read | Rafael Nadal reveals date of his return from injury after withdrawing from Wimbledon 2022
Norrie will have the weight of Wimbledon’s support behind him, as the hometown favourite, but will have to dig deeper to produce a result against someone who hasn’t lost at Wimbledon since 2016. Mats Wilander, who won 7 Slam titles across his entire distinguished career but never at Wimbledon, revealed to Eurosport what he thinks Norrie must do to give himself the best chance against Djokovic.
“It’s all the first hour,” Wilander said. “You’ve got to leave it out there physically in the first hour. Then it’s all about the second hour [where] you’ve got to leave it out there physically.” Perhaps easier said than done, but against an athlete of the calibre of Novak Djokovic, anything less than a 100% effort will give him too much room to show his class and ability.
Wilander pointed out that Norrie is at the peak of his powers at 26 years old, and will have the benefit of extra energy, despite his long match against Goffin (Djokovic was also pushed to five sets in his quarterfinal against young Italian Jannik Sinner.)
Wilander said, “And then it’s about Novak being 35 years old, and you being 10 years younger, and you keep pushing and pushing. Maybe it’s not your time, but maybe the person in the finals has a chance to beat Novak.” Nick Kyrgios of Australia has already qualified for the finals, having been given a walkover due to Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from the semifinals.
“You have to try and take a chunk out of Novak every time you meet him, and it might not be Norrie’s time to beat him, but you’ve got to do your best for as long as possible,” concluded Wilander. Djokovic and Norrie have only met once before, at the ATP World Tour Finals in 2021, in which Djokovic only dropped 3 games en route to a straight-sets victory.
Their semifinal will take place on Friday, 8 July, played on Wimbledon’s famous Centre Court in its centenary year, and the winner will play in the final on 10 July.
