Norrie vows to keep up the hard work after falling at first hurdle at Queen’s
British No 2 Cameron Norrie resolved to find his form again after falling short in the opening round of the LTA’S cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club yesterday.
The 28-year-old was taken to three sets by Canada’s Milos Raonic but was denied a round-of-16 berth following a thrilling tie-break decider, eventually losing 6-7(6) 6-3 7-6(9).
Raonic, a former Queen’s and Wimbledon finalist against Andy Murray, hit a whopping 47 aces in the opening round, an ATP Tour record in a best-ofthree match.
A Queen's runner-up himself in
2021, Norrie now turns his attention to doubles alongside Jack Draper, with Norrie convinced he can learn a lot from the fellow Brit who is fresh from his first ATP Tour title win in Stuttgart.
Norrie said: “He [Raonic] won the last point and he served unreal, [he was] too good. Even before the match, I said he’s probably got the best serve I’ve ever faced.
“It’s tough but I was honestly proud about my level, I gave myself a lot of chances and my concentration was great, I enjoyed it but he was too good.
“I’d like to have a few more matches before Wimbledon but it’s going to pay off eventually and I just need to keep going for it.
“Taking losses like this, you need to trust yourself even more, you’ve just got to not flinch, keep going and keep working, I’m still playing the best tournaments in the world in front of a home crowd.
“I’m excited [to play with Draper], hopefully he’s up for it and I can pick his brains on a few things and what’s working for him on the grass, he’s playing unreal so I’m excited to play with him again.
“It gives us a chance to go really deep and I’m excited to watch him in singles as well.” Norrie was displaced as British No 1 by Draper and suffered an early exit at the LTA’S Rothesay Open Nottingham by fellow Brit Jack Pinnington Jones last week but insists he will take a long-lens approach to his form.
“I’m just giving myself options, keeping evolving my game, for three years I played very predictable tennis,” said Norrie. “I want to stay at this level but I need to keep improving to give myself a chance to get back at the very top of the game, it’s going to take a lot of tough losses like this.”
2014 Queen’s champion Grigor Dimitrov opened his grasscourt campaign with a convincing 6-1 6-2 win against Adrian Mannarino in the first round on Centre Court.
Meanwhile, American Frances Tiafoe was forced to withdraw on Court 1 due to a hip injury, meaning qualifier Rinky Hijikata advanced through to the round of 16.
Five-time singles champion Andy Murray will feature in his first-round bout today against qualifier Alexei Popyrin in what will be his final Queen’s Club tilt as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz
pitches for his title defence. Should Murray overcome Australian Popyrin, he will face Jordan Thompson in the second round after he beat seventh seed and 2023 semi-finalist Holger Rune in a 4-6 7-6(4) 6-3 upset.
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website