Cameron Norrie is the last Briton standing in the singles at Wimbledon, but faces a tough run to the final if he is to become the first home contender to lift the Challenge Cup since Andy Murray in 2016.
The 29-year-old secured his quarter-final berth after an epic five-set clash with Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, which he won 7-6 (4) 6-7 (7) 6-7 (5) 6-3.
After missing a match point in the third set, Norrie went the full distance, eventually tasting victory after four hours and 27 minutes.
He has been handed a day off on Monday but will be fully focused on recovery ahead of a titanic quarter-final bout on Tuesday.
Next for Norrie is an unenviable meeting with second-seed Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spaniard, still just 22, is already a five-time major winner and is in the hunt for a third consecutive Wimbledon title.
He brushed with disaster in his first-round tie, where he required five sets to get past Fabio Fognini, but cruised in subsequent meetings with world No733 Oliver Tarvet, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Andrey Rublev.
Tuesday will be the seventh meeting between Norrie and Alcaraz. Norrie trails in the head-to-head, with two wins to Alcaraz’s four, and last beat the Spaniard in 2023. The pair have never played each other on grass.
The draw is not set to get any easier for Norrie, either. Should he down Alcaraz, a meeting with either fifth-seed Taylor Fritz or 17th-seed Karen Khachanov would await in the semi-finals.
There are wide-ranging permutations as to who could await in the final. On the opposite half of the draw are top-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner and the veteran Novak Djokovic, who is in the hunt for an eighth Wimbledon title.
Tenth-seed Ben Shelton is in with a chance of reaching the final, too. The American is yet to drop a set so far in the tournament.
Other potential finalists include Grigor Dimitrov, Lorenzo Sonego, Marin Cilic, Flavio Cobolli, and Alex de Minaur.
