Cameron Norrie was practically fighting for his tennis life by the final set of an agonising four-hour duel on his beloved No 1 Court. As he watched ace after ace fly past him from one of the most destructive servers in the world, Norrie’s momentum had disappeared along with his two-set lead and match point.
The Briton has been on an unforgettable journey over the past few years and after enduring one of the most difficult periods of his career, he has rebounded with even greater courage and self-belief. He drew upon that conviction in the final moments as he continued his brilliant run at Wimbledon by bravely holding his nerve to close out a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-3 win over the qualifier Nicolás Jarry after four hours and 27 minutes.
The victory marks Norrie’s second grand slam quarter-final, having won his first, also in SW19, in 2022. Despite the greater attention that other players receive, he is again the last British player standing at Wimbledon. After spending such a long time watching his lead shrink against an opponent who fired down 44 aces, Norrie dragged himself over the line, using his supreme competitive spirit and his ability to maintain his composure at all costs.
The 29-year-old has enjoyed a spectacular residency on No 1 Court this year, which was in fine voice again, but his stellar performances may well have earned him a first sighting of Centre Court. He will face either Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion and second seed, or the 14th seed Andrey Rublev on Tuesday.
The recent trajectory of Norrie’s career has been fascinating. Having already been struggling with his form in 2024, a left biceps injury compounded his misery. From his career high ranking of No 8, he fell as low as 91st in May. Norrie is an extremely ambitious person and at his lowest point, as he compared his frustrating level to his form when he reached the top 10, he was weighed down by his expectations.
The world No 61 has found his way again by focusing solely on his enjoyment of the sport, finding happiness and satisfaction in every single workout, practice and match, regardless of the result. Now, on the biggest stages in the world, his results are also a source of joy again.
This was always likely to be a massive challenge. Having climbed as high as No 16 last year, Jarry has fallen to his current ranking of No 143 in large part due to a severe case of vestibular neuritis, an ear condition that has affected his balance, perception and vision, leading to spells of dizziness. The Chilean stands at 6ft 7in and at its best, his serve is untouchable. He pairs it with relentless aggression behind his forehand in order to cover up his deficient movement and return game. He has been the best version of himself throughout his run from qualifying. In the first round here, he recovered from two sets down against the No 8 seed Holger Rune.
The ease with which Norrie moved through the first set, confidently taking advantage of one poor service game from Jarry, did not hint at the struggles to come. Midway through the second set, Jarry fired down aces at will, flitting through his own service games. Holding serve was essential here.
After Norrie won the second set, the pair soon found themselves in a second tie-break and after establishing a 5-3 lead, Norrie’s nerves finally surfaced as he double-faulted while two points away from victory. Although he recovered well to force a match point on his serve at 6-5, Jarry produced a rare, spectacular backhand return off a first serve to scupper the danger. He then took the racket out of Norrie’s hand with his serving and relentless attack to force a fourth set.
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Suddenly, the terms of engagement had completely changed. Having spent the previous hour easing through his service games, Norrie’s serve was under attack. While Jarry’s audacious serving continued, almost every one of Norrie’s games became an extended tussle. Although Norrie still had not been broken all match, he still could not halt Jarry’s frantic momentum, who slammed down another ace to force a fifth set.
Both men steadied for the decider with a toilet break and when they returned the match shifted again. While Jarry had served and attacked freely while he chased Norrie’s lead down, he felt a different kind of pressure at the beginning of the fifth set. As Norrie desperately tried to land returns, to chase down every ball and offer his opponent no free points, the Chilean opened the set with a poor service game, offering up loose unforced errors he had not committed for two hours.
Having spent so much of his time in a futile chase for Jarry’s serve, there was no chance that Norrie was going to let this opportunity pass him by as he closed out a win that further re-establishes him at the top of the game.
