CINCH CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 19, 2021

Cameron Norrie

Queens Club

Press Conference

C. NORRIE/D. Shapovalov

7-5, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I think you said to us at the end of the French that you thought you could do well on the grass, but have you surprised yourself a little bit by just how well it's going?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, thank you. Yeah, a little bit surprised to be here in the final of Queen's, obviously looking at the draw with such big names in the draw and such top-ranked players, so it's definitely a surprise.

No, I have improved every match that I have played here and felt a lot more comfortable on the grass, especially with the movement of each match. Yeah, it's been a fantastic week so far. Really enjoying it on the grass. Embracing it as much as I can.

Q. You said on court that you would pick the brains of Andy and Dan. How helpful will that be, the fact they have actually already played Berrettini this week?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, for sure. Obviously it's a little bit different with playing me, being a lefty, and then also I asked my dubs partner, Alex.

Yeah, I have watched him a little bit this week. Not going to be easy. He's serving really well and using his forehand and dictating play with his forehand. He's having a great year. He's extremely confident.

Maybe might message Evo, Andy if they have anything, but obviously a very different matchup playing me as a lefty. Yeah, it's a tough final, and, yeah, he's playing very well. It's nice going into it as the underdog. I think he's got a couple titles already on the grass. Looking forward to it.

Q. You said, I think, after you lost in Paris, looking ahead to the grass, that it was a pretty tricky surface for you. I wonder if you said that because you were not particularly confident having had not that many wins before and whether that's now changed? Do you think your game is now quite well suited to grass?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, it's interesting. I think I always believed I could play well on the grass. I just, I think, yeah, I didn't embrace it as much as I could have in previous years.

I think the biggest thing is my serve has improved a lot and my movement. I thought today I moved very well and defended the court well and defended the forehand better than usual for me, so I think the movement has been a big factor in that.

And definitely on the serve and return I'm a little bit sharper and managed to dig out a couple of points here and there. I think that's all it comes down to on the grass is who does the fundamentals better and who executes better and who plays the bigger points better. I guess it's pretty said on all surfaces, but especially here on grass. I think I'm doing a good job on all these areas so far, but still a lot of things I can work on and things to improve on.

Q. You could play eight sets tomorrow potentially if you go all the way in the doubles final. Have you ever had a day like that in tennis when you could play so much tennis in a space of five or six hours?

CAMERON NORRIE: I'm trying to work out if you got your math right there.

Q. I should hope so.

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, it's going to be an interesting day. Obviously the big focus is on the singles, take care of that, and then, yeah, I'll just enjoy the doubles with Alex. Just a pleasure to be in the draw still in the doubles and just use it, I guess, another match on the match court.

Yeah, I'll just focus on the singles and hopefully let the adrenaline carry me over throughout the day. Hopefully go all the way and do it all, but I'm pretty sure I'll be a little bit tired if I manage to play all eight sets. Be a tough ask to win them all.

I'm looking forward to it, but I think I'm feeling physically good, and I can go rest tonight and get ready for that big day tomorrow.

Q. Other than Andy, you're going to be the only British player who has ever reached the final at Queen's since the Second World War. That's a tremendous achievement to get there. What does that mean to you?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, I heard that stat earlier today. It's an unbelievable thing, unbelievable stat. Definitely means a lot. It's definitely a very special tournament here. To reach the final is a huge achievement for me, I think one of my biggest of my career so far. That's absolutely massive.

Yeah, it hasn't really settled in yet, especially when you say it like that. But, yeah, I'm happy with how I'm playing and handling things. Hopefully can match Andy on that one and get the title tomorrow (smiling). It's going to be not easy obviously. Yeah, let's see what happens.

Q. You're going to be seeded now at Wimbledon. That's quite a landmark to be seeded at a slam. It's an advantage, but also it does say something about what you've achieved in the last few months, doesn't it?

CAMERON NORRIE: Am I for sure being seeded? Yeah? That's great. Yeah, I mean, I guess you could get a slightly better draw in the first couple rounds, but, yeah, I guess it's a good achievement.

Haven't really thought about it too much. Just try and focus on this week and hopefully be seeded even higher if I get through tomorrow. So it's a great achievement, but I wasn't really thinking about it too much. It's definitely a good thing.

Q. Just in the way you have been playing, I think of you as somebody who is incredibly hard to beat and makes every point a real struggle. Feels like today you added some kind of offense on a level I haven't necessarily expected, the backhand passes and stuff. Does that come with confidence and a lot of wins?

CAMERON NORRIE: I think, yeah, I passed extremely well on both sides today. I think I really trusted the movement a bit more. Just comes from how I've been playing and all the matches so far on the grass here in Queen's.

Yeah, I think it comes from trusting the foot, especially on the grass. Yeah, I came up with a couple of big points and big passes when I needed to and on some big points as well. Set point I came up with a good backhand line pass, and then again to break him to serve for the match, unbelievable backhand. You can see he slipped over, so it didn't have to be that good, I guess (smiling).

But, yeah, I definitely am moving as well as I have moved before on this surface. I haven't moved as well as I have at the moment. Yeah, it's been a good week so far, and hopefully keep coming up with some passing shots like that again tomorrow.