THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2023

Cameron Norrie

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference for Cameron Norrie.

Cam, your initial thoughts and preparations ahead of Wimbledon.

CAMERON NORRIE: I'm excited, especially after last year. Practice has been going really well. I'm hitting the ball as well as I can. I think all the preparation has been there.

It's always good feelings, good sensations before Wimbledon. My favorite tournament, so I can't wait.

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. I saw, I think it was your mum on Centre Court with you the other day. If I made it up...

CAMERON NORRIE: You made it up (laughter). She wasn't. No.

Q. What were you listening to with your coach when you were warming up? Do you listen to the same music?

CAMERON NORRIE: No, the tournament asked me to do that. I think they wanted just to hear some comments from me as a player and then Facu, my coach, about the courts, the conditions, first time hitting on that court.

I think it was maybe for some social media stuff, to give some fans some insight about maybe what goes on conversation-wise. I think so. They didn't tell me that, but that's what I assume.

Q. What was the court condition like? Super lush early on. Are you glad to have that time?

CAMERON NORRIE: For sure, that was great to have that. Like you said, it was very green, very lush. The ball was staying quite low. Yeah, both of us were moving great.

Yeah, I think just always the first few days you have to be careful on those courts. That was the first time for me playing with the roof closed, so yeah, good acoustics of the ball. It's a bit different when there's no one in there, no fans.

Good fun. Good 45 minutes. I think it was great to have that time on the court.

Q. You had that great run last year getting to the semifinals, taking the first set off Novak. What's the single hardest thing about playing against him?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, that's a good question.

I think he keeps, like in that match, I was playing great, doing everything well, and I think it was on serve in the second set, and I missed a couple balls by nothing. You feel you have to keep playing at such a high level. I dropped a little bit, and he was all over me. From then on he really improved and kept his level very high. Mine dropped ever so slightly. I think that was the difference.

He was able to find a way in the majority of the matches when he's feeling okay. He's always finishing better and better as the matches go on. I think over five sets, it's obviously really tough to beat him. You end up overplaying a little bit at times. He makes you hit such tough shots, even kind of easy shot balls, he makes you feel like you have to go for the perfect one.

You can learn a lot from matches like that and playing with him. He plays at such a high level. A lot of respect for him, especially on this surface. It was a good match for me to learn from, that one, for sure.

Q. It must give you a lot of confidence coming back.

CAMERON NORRIE: For sure. That was so much fun. It all starts again. There's no reason why I can't do it again. I'm playing well, hitting the ball really well. Having that run last year gave me a lot of confidence going into this year.

But it all starts again. You have to take it match by match. Still a long way to go. There's so many good players on this surface. Yeah, the draw's stacked. I'm going to have to keep improving match by match.

But most of all I'm looking forward to getting going.

Q. What advice would you give to fellow British No. 1 Katie Bolton as she comes into this tournament with all the expectations?

CAMERON NORRIE: I would say it's great for her. It's no surprise to me when she's healthy she's winning tournaments and playing great tennis, top tennis. I was even a few years ago playing Hopman Cup with her. She was playing so well. It's great to see her stringing them together and back healthy.

I think you have to embrace it. It's exactly what you want. You want people to want you doing well and have the expectation on you.

I think for her, like, it's great for her to be British No. 1, but I think there's so many players still ranked above her. I think her potential is so big. I think she needs to look beyond that and keep pushing and keep going for it.

I haven't looked past her first-round draw. But for me, take it match by match and enjoy it. She knows she's got the level. I would say go for it. It's exactly where you want to be.

Q. Andy said he liked to come to Wimbledon quite a bit kind of outside tournament time. Have you been to the club outside of tournament time? Do you spend any time here?

CAMERON NORRIE: I actually have, yeah. I went at the end of last year, I had a bit of time off. I was coming to the club and did some gym work here. Had dinner here one night. Before Queen's I was coming here using the gym. Last week coming here and using the club a lot.

The food is so good here, even like outside of the tournament. Me and my fitness trainer really like the gym. Obviously to practice here one day was great, too.

I mean, I just got my membership, so it was cool to use that. It's such a nice club. It's almost worth coming here just to have a shower and just to enjoy, the showers they have are so good.

I'm lucky to be a member now. I'm trying to use it as much as I can.

Q. Does it feel special every time you walk through the gates?

CAMERON NORRIE: It feels so special. I think even more so when the tournament is not even on. Not many people are around. Yeah, the facility's obviously so good. Just you get treated like someone really special.

Yeah, it's a good feeling, and nice to be a member.

Q. After the great run last year, do you feel more of a weight of expectation and pressure going into this tournament?

CAMERON NORRIE: Obviously, for sure, more so than last year. I had a lot of similar questions like that. Obviously to make the run like I did last year was great. I think there's even more reason I think I can do it again.

I would say, yeah, there's more questions like that being asked. But I think, like I said, I'd rather have that than kind of opposite to that and be like, you're going to bomb out first round again here. I'd rather people saying that than the other way.

I think you have to embrace it, you have to enjoy that. I think last year I did a really good job of that, enjoying the matches, enjoying the media. I was loving every moment of it. I had all my friends and family watching. I think it's another opportunity to go out and enjoy that.

Every Wimbledon is a special one. It's my favorite tournament. So I have to go out and prepare as well as I can, which I've done. I'm going to have to go out and execute and to take care of everything that I can, watch film of the guys I'm playing, execute my routines, play my best tennis.

It's a good opportunity and a good test for me. I love tests like that. I'm really looking forward to it.

Q. What is your morning routine? You were cycling in a bit last year. How key is it for you to keep that same routine? What are you doing to chill out in the evenings?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, I think it's going to be pretty similar. Coffee with my fitness trainer, then we cycle in together. Yeah, it's great to have those. I'm enjoying that.

Usually at tournaments I'm trying to get into different routines here and there. It's a good one to have that. I think pretty different from a lot of players. It's a good warm-up, as well.

I think for sure I'll be sticking to it.

Q. You mentioned you thought Prince William was a lucky charm because you never lost in front of him. Are you going to be looking up to the Royal Box?

CAMERON NORRIE: He only watched one match so I'm one for one on that (smiling).

I actually didn't know till the end he was watching, so... Really special to see that they're following, watching and supporting as well.

Yeah, I think that's really cool. It means a lot to have them watching. I will try not to look too much. I'm trying to stay pretty focused on the match. But, yeah, it means a lot. It's cool.

Q. On your draw, your first-round opponent?

CAMERON NORRIE: I never played him before. I've actually seen him. We played them in Davis Cup. He played Evo. He's really a talented guy, Tomas. I'm watching some of his matches in the quallies. I think he's a typical chip player, really good backhand. He's young, up-and-coming.

I think he'll see it as a really good opportunity, playing a top player. I think he really likes playing in the spotlight. In the Davis Cup he played great with a lot of pressure on the line there.

I think it's going to be a tricky, tricky one. Yeah, I think it's a good match. I know I'm going to get a lot of rhythm. I think it's a good one for me. I'm looking forward to a good challenge. Just going to be a tough one and I have to play great.

Q. I'm a reporter with "Africa Today Magazine." You have fans in Africa. Maybe you don't know this. In Nigeria, Ghana, in South Africa. The way it's portrayed, you only have fans here. You have people over there rooting for you, too, wanting to meet you. What do you think about that?

CAMERON NORRIE: I would say that's cool. Especially not having any tournaments there, hopefully one day we can play tournaments in Africa. That would be great.

I think, yeah, it's a pretty unique sport where you get to have fans all over the world, in different cities. Yeah, I think that's really cool to hear that. Hopefully play there one day.