THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 6, 2025

Cameron Norrie

Press Conference

C. NORRIE/N. Jarry

6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Cam, congratulations. Actually just talk a little bit about today's match.

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, it was an amazing match from both sides. I held my concentration extremely well, and my level was high. The atmosphere was so good, a lot of fun. I was really impressed with Nico's attitude. He came to compete every point.

Yeah, I could have won it in straight sets today, but credit to him. Really proud about my attitude and stayed so tough throughout the whole match, so I think that was the difference.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I remember you talked to us in Paris on your win there that you were playing vintage Norrie tennis, 7 out of 10 for four and a half hours. It was four and a half hours today, but would you give yourself more than 7 out of 10?

CAMERON NORRIE: I would, yeah. It was a bit higher than 7 out of 10. I did a lot of things well. My first ball was probably the best thing I did after my serve. I didn't miss many, and I kept it moving. In that fifth set I was keeping him off-balance in some moments, especially that 2-Love game, that really long game. I did well there.

The level was high from both. He served unbelievably well. I managed my service games well. He was really good off the ground. He found fire with his backhand in that fourth set.

But, yeah, definitely higher than a 7 out of 10 for sure.

Q. How mentally tiring is it to hold serve? You held serve the whole match. How tiring is it to do that against a guy like that?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, for sure. It was something I wanted to really do before the match. I didn't want to let his game style kind of get me frustrated. When he's serving lots of aces and nothing kind of happening in the match, and then suddenly he's playing some really good points. So I wanted to stay fired up and really enjoy all aspects of the match.

If it's a cheap point, I was enjoying it. If it was a long rally, I was enjoying it. If I had a forehand winner, I was enjoying it. And I wanted to keep that energy high and not really let -- obviously he served 46 aces in the match, and I didn't want to let that bother me.

I think that's how he can frustrate players. He's such a good player when he's playing with confidence and when he's serving like that and when he's playing like that off the ground moving that well. For me it was a really competitive match, and I enjoyed all of it, and I love the way he competes.

Q. Obviously the conversation underneath the chair at the end was a bit unusual. What can you tell us about that?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, I think it's a big match. For both of us, we really wanted to win the match. Yeah, I think it was obviously frustrating for him to lose. 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. And to see him not only playing at that level, you know, seeing him enjoying his tennis and coming through quallies so easily and dropping guys, so I wish him all the best.

I guess we both really wanted to win. It was a huge match, so I can understand where he's coming from. But, yeah.

Q. There was also a bit where he complained to Eva about is he allowed to have that much time before the second serve. He said he didn't know the rule. I don't know if you noticed he took 23 bounces at one point between his first and second. I don't know if you noticed that.

CAMERON NORRIE: I didn't. At one point, yeah, I thought he was maybe a little bit tight on that second serve. It's okay. For me, I wanted to take my time on the second serve and making sure that I'm getting myself ready to set.

I'm not doing nothing. 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. That was kind of what I'm doing with my second serve. I want to play the point. Typically I had to play a long point. If I'm hitting a second serve, I have to be ready for sure.

Q. I don't think I've ever seen you flop on the ground, correct me if I'm wrong, after a match. It probably means a bit more to you than in 2022 when, given the injuries you've had to overcome this time around?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, you're right. I've never fell to the floor in a match, and I think it was just how tough it was to get there. I was playing unreal, knocking on the door in the third set. He played well tiebreak, and then tiebreak again he played well. I had the tiebreak a little bit.

I had to fight through, and I was up a break, and I had break point again to go 5-1. Then he was fighting back. It was more just -- yeah, even 40-Love I played unreal point. Man, just come on, shank one out or hit one out. He was there playing, fighting right until the last point. I had to play another huge point, another good point to win it.

Yeah, it was a nice moment for myself. And I agree with you that it was definitely well -- it feels a little bit better and well more deserved coming back from the injury and kind of coming back and trying to push back into the top of the game.

So, yeah, all the hard work and everything, it's paid off. I've been a dedicated professional and good team around me. These moments, it's the icing on the cake. It was a well-deserved fall to the floor I think.

Q. Was there ever a time when playing a big server like that would have frustrated you before?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, I think typically with my experience I think that's how you can lose to those guys. You play a loose game here or there, and you lose your serve, and suddenly the set has gone away very quickly.

I knew that was going to be the case with the way the match is going to be if he played well and if he served well, which he really did.

For sure in the past I would have maybe been a bit pissed off and seen, man, he's serving 46 aces, and I'm getting no looks, he doesn't play a loose game. Can start to be pissed off or a little bit upset with yourself, and then you can quickly play a couple of loose points on your serve, and then that can be the difference. I did well with hanging onto my serve.

Q. You talk about enjoying your tennis and playing points. I feel like you also enjoy all parts of the tennis match, whether it's playing the match play, playing the man a little bit. Nicolas when he was in earlier said you're very competitive, you know how to use the biggest parts of the match. Can you talk a bit about that, just the kind of mano-a-mano element of tennis? I think you really enjoy that.

CAMERON NORRIE: I really do. I really like it's, yeah, 1 v. 1. The crowd is involved, and the crowd was on my side today. I really tried to use that. Like I said the other day, I had my friends, my family, my girlfriend there watching supporting, and I wanted to give everyone something to cheer about.

Yeah, there's so many different parts to the game of tennis with momentum and energy and different moments in the matches with tiebreaks, with break points. It's a lot of fun, and I'm enjoying all aspects of it. Actually, I think Nico did an unbelievable job to win those two tiebreaks in the third and fourth. I had them. I was up a mini-break, and I got a little bit tentative on a couple of shots, but he was hitting his backhand well. I think he actually did a really good job managing the moments of the match.

His body language was, I think, if you're a junior player, I would maybe watch that match and look at his body language or both of our body languages for the whole match. None of us dropped our heads. We did nothing negative. It was all positive. He was getting fired up; I was getting fired up. I loved all of it.

Q. I've been told that left-handed players have more benefit when they're playing on the grass. Do you think that's true? Do you also have the idea that right-handed players are a little bit more difficult to read your game?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, I think for me specifically my lefty service is quite effective with my backhand as well. It's very low. Coming from that deuce side, I think a lot of players aren't used to seeing the ball coming that low. Probably just myself and Mannarino are the two players, and maybe Bellucci as well, hitting it that low and that cross.

It's a little bit unorthodox. I'm trying to use it to my advantage. And Nico was hitting a lot of slice wide on the deuce today, a lot of aces as well.

Yeah, I was doing my best to use that to my advantage, and I'm happy I'm lefty.

Q. How does it feel to be the last Brit in the draw? Is that something you even care about?

CAMERON NORRIE: Not really. I would have liked to have seen some more guys go deeper. Obviously we had a lot of wins in the first couple of rounds. But it's good. It's good to have the support.

Court 1 was so loud today, and yeah, I was enjoying my tennis. Yeah, I'm not really caring too much if I'm the last Brit standing or if they're all here. It would be nice to kind of have a few more to kind of deflect and have lots of people to cheer for, and I think in years to come it's going to be the case.

I'm just taking care of my business and really enjoying my tennis at the moment. It is what it is with that.

Q. It's your best run here in three years. You talk a lot about how you're enjoying your tennis. You come across very confident. At what point do you start allowing yourself to dream about going all the way? Are you thinking about it already, or will you not let yourself even -- that thought cross your mind until you are playing in the final? Secondly, we heard about your giant-sized lungs at the end of the match tonight. If you could just explain the background to that for the uninitiated and tell us a bit about how that might have helped you today?

CAMERON NORRIE: What was the first question again? I got distracted.

Q. At what point will you start allowing yourself to think that you could go all the way?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, I think it only gets tougher from now. I've played a lot of tough matches already, and it's looking like Alcaraz and Rublev are still playing. 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, like I said, hitting the ball well. Happy to be sure, but a long way away from that.

Yeah, with my lungs, yeah, I just randomly did a test. I think I was in college or one summer, and I did a test. They were, like, Oh, you must be some, like, deep sea diver or something like, We did some test on yours lung, They're huge.

I said, Well, I didn't even know. I was, like, Okay. I think since then I've had huge confidence in my cardio. I don't know. It must be true, but yeah, I think it just gives me -- I can back myself in those longer rallies and everything, and I think it's just kind of a false confidence, but I'll take it.

Q. You saved 8 out of 8 break points today. How pleased are you with the way you handled those pressure points?

CAMERON NORRIE: They were huge. That was the difference in the match. I think both of us did a really good job saving break points, and he was making a lot of first serves on his ones, too.

I had to dig deep. I had to tough all of them out. Yeah, that was huge for me. I gave him absolutely nothing. Yeah, there was a couple -- I managed to break a couple of times, and that was the difference in the match.

I hung onto my serve extremely well and gave him nothing. My first ball was so, so good. I was picking the ball up, seeing it so good. Especially on my forehand side, it was so good.

Q. Just the last few days I'm watching your matches and Emma's match against Aryna. The atmosphere is louder than it has been for a few years, it seems to me. Do you feel the same with the atmosphere?

CAMERON NORRIE: Yeah, I think the crowd knows that I like the atmosphere being loud, and especially there was a few moments in the match where they just got really loud in a Love-30, in the tiebreak. You can feel the energy coming back to you. So it's so good.

I actually watched Emma's match. The level was really high, so it was nice to see her very calm and playing her tennis, enjoying her tennis as well. She was getting fired up with the crowd, too. I was really enjoying that.

Honestly, there was a couple of points in that match, and she could have snuck through. It just shows where her level is, and I think more her mentality of kind of owning it and staying relaxed and really fighting and playing such good tennis. It was good to see.