Delay it as he has and request otherwise as he might, Cameron Norrie’s time to take centre stage at Wimbledon has arrived.
There was little attention on the 29-year-old heading into these Championships, the focus instead largely on Jack Draper and the assumption that he would lead the home charge over this fortnight.
But Draper has succumbed to a early exit, as he did a year ago when losing to Norrie, and the thirst for British success must be quenched elsewhere. There will be no Burberry influencers in tow, the montages not quite as well-prepared, but Norrie finds himself in possession of the baton.
He has made it clear he has little desire to grace Centre Court, preferring the setting and atmosphere of Court No1, and he looked at home once again in first battling and then cruising to a 7-6 6-4 6-3 third-round win over Mattia Bellucci.
There is only so long, however, that wishes can be granted. Norrie, a semi-finalist in 2022, is once again the last British man remaining in the singles draw and the spotlight cannot be avoided much longer. Nor, in all likelihood, the grandeur of Wimbledon’s most hallowed ground, with a fourth-round clash to come against six-foot seven-inch Nicolas Jarry, and beyond that a potential quarter-final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.
“Every single big moment you got loud and changed the momentum, it was a big factor in the match,” Norrie said in his on-court interview afterwards. “I’ve got to thank you guys for that.
“When I saw the schedule I was really happy. Hopefully I can play my next match on here, I don’t know. Hopefully I can play all my matches on here.”
Norrie’s presence in the draw deep into the second week relies on that not being the case, but the sentiment is understandable. 12th seed Frances Tiafoe, beaten by Norrie in the second round, believed the support lifted the Briton to heights he would not otherwise have reached.
It was Bellucci making the early noise here, though, with close to half of the Court No1 crowd still yet to return to their seats as the Italian made a flying start. He won the first seven points on Norrie’s serve, which had been so much of a weapon against Tiafoe.
Norrie’s game is one not built on power or flair but rather grit and dogged determination. He just about avoided falling a double-break behind, scrambling out of trouble, before breaking to love in the following game to level it up at 4-4.
They remained locked all the way through to 5-5 in the tie-break, when Norrie produced the match’s best point at the biggest moment. The 24th and final shot of a bruising rally was a stunning backhand pass down the line, bringing up a set point that was duly converted.
Bellucci was offering up an entertaining spectacle on his own, not shy in throwing everything at a huge forehand while also fighting a regular balance battle as he slid around, at times chaotically, behind the baseline.
One awkward lunge early in the second set left him bent over, hand on knee, but Bellucci’s mood was swiftly improved as a backhand winner recovered the break he had given up in the opening game.
Norrie restored his advantage in familiar fashion, first hanging in and then taking charge of a another long rally to break for 4-3.
The Briton has spoken of wanting an engaged crowd and he got just that, the good and the bad, as he served for the set. First the rallying cries when he fell 15-30 down, the murmurs of disappointment when a first serve crashed into the net, and the groans as a forehand flew long on set point. And then, minutes later, an almighty roar as an ace out wide sealed a two-set lead.
Bellucci was at his most vulnerable when in control of a point, Norrie reading a smash and hammering a backhand winner down the line to secure a break early in the third. A break of serve and, seemingly, spirit.
The Italian swiftly surrendered his serve again, this time to love, and that provided Norrie with ample breathing room. He was broken when serving for the match at 5-2, but completed the job in the following game. Now a nervous wait for Sunday’s order of play.
