Cameron Norrie played down his on-court confrontation with Nicolas Jarry after the Chilean complained about what he perceived to be poor sportsmanship.
The last British singles player still standing at Wimbledon booked his place in the quarter-finals at SW19 after he was given a major scare by Jarry.
Norrie won the first two sets but was taken to a decider on his beloved No1 Court, before sealing a 6-3 7-6 6-7 6-7 6-3 victory in four hours and 27 minutes, the longest match of the 29-year-old’s career.
Jarry spoke to the umpire during the match about how many times Norrie was bouncing the ball before his second serve, questioning whether action could be taken, and then confronted the Briton with a lengthy discussion on the court after the handshake at the net.
Norrie revealed that Jarry was also unhappy with how animated he had been with his ‘come on’ shouts and fist-pumping to the crowd.
“Yeah, I think it was obviously frustrating for him to lose,” Norrie said.“I just told him, ‘man, that was unbelievable level. You competed so well, and I loved the way you kind of responded’. It was such a good match.
“The atmosphere was really good. I think, yeah, he just said I was being a little bit too vocal, but I was aiming directly at my team and pulling from the crowd. The atmosphere of the court was so, so good.
“Honestly, nothing but credit to Nico for his performance.”
Norrie also insisted he was not deliberately seeking to irritate his opponent with the length of time taking before a second serve.
“I'm not doing nothing,” he said.
“I actually didn't even notice he was upset with that. Yeah, I want to settle before I hit my second serve. I don't want to rush into it and hit a quick double.”
Norrie has thrived on No1 Court in the opening week of the tournament but now looks certain to move to Centre Court, with a quarter-final clash against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz next up.
With Sonay Kartal losing earlier on Sunday, Norrie is now flying the British flag by himself. He reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2022 and after his win over Jarry was asked whether he has dreamed about going even further than that this time.
“Yeah, I think it only gets tougher from now,” Norrie said.“I've played a lot of tough matches already, now it only gets tougher.
“There's still lots of matches to be played and lots of matches to be won. I'm going to play point-for-point as always, and I'm really happy with how I pulled up after the match.
“My body feels good, and I'm in a good place. I've been hitting the ball well. Happy to be sure, but a long way away from that.”
