Cameron Norrie feels the top guys losing at Indian Wells "was pretty miraculous", says shoe thieves have something "against the Brits"
Cameron Norrie staged an incredible comeback to win the 2021 BNP Paribas Open against Nikoloz Basilashvili 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. This is Norrie's first Masters 1000 title, and it also made him the first British man to triumph in Indian Wells.
The 26-year-old has been making steady progress throughout the year, and in his post-match conference he spoke at length about what the Indian Wells breakthrough means to him.
The first British man to rule the desert in tournament history 🇬🇧
🎥: @TennisTV | @cam_norrie | #BNPPO21
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Cameron Norrie first expressed happiness at how he played over the course of two weeks and handled all the crucial moments. Speaking specifically about the final, Norrie claimed it was over rather quickly as his opponent's level dropped in the end.
"Yeah, I mean, what an incredible week I've had here," the Brit said. "Yeah, it was just a strange match. It was over quite quickly, and then the last kind of set I was expecting it to be longer. He made a couple errors towards the end."
"I still don't really know what I'm experiencing," he added. "It was an amazing couple weeks and I'm so happy with how I treated all the occasions, all the big moments, all the matches. Yeah, I'm so happy, so pleased to win my biggest title."
Cameron Norrie also admitted he was a little surprised by his win, since at the start of the tournament he was a little nervous about the conditions. He also had a couple of tough matches early on, and the one with Bautista Agut left him physically drained.
"Yeah, I mean, I think it's a little bit surprising," Norrie said. "Starting the tournament, you're a little bit nervous, you're not really sure, not used to the conditions. You're not feeling good. I had a couple of tough matches early on, especially against Bautista. I think that was my toughest match. Physically that match was rough."
Norrie sensed he had a huge opportunity once he reached the semifinals, as all the top players had surprisingly lost early on. The 26-year-old called the situation "miraculous", but asserted that he never thought too far ahead.
"I think it just shows if you stick around in these big events, obviously it was pretty miraculous that all the top guys lost," Norrie said. "And when I looked at the four semifinalists, 'Hmm, it's a good opportunity here.' Didn't really want to get too far ahead of myself."
That said, the morning of the final wasn't smooth for Cameron Norrie. The Brit lost three pairs of his shoes, which he keeps by his locker usually.
Norrie and his team looked for them everywhere, but to no avail. In the end, the 26-year-old assumed one of the cleaning staff must've accidentally tossed them away. But during his presser, Norrie jokingly suggested that people love messing with British people and their footwear.
He was, of course, referring to Andy Murray's similar predicament; the former World No. 1 had his shoes and wedding ring stolen earlier in the tournament.
"Yeah, I got to the tennis today, every day I left my shoes on top of the locker," Norrie said. "I think someone, I don't know who it was, maybe someone from the cleaners or something last night, came through and they threw the three pairs of shoes that I had away. I looked all day. I had everyone looking."
"I don't know what the people have against the Brits with stealing the shoes, but I didn't manage to get them back," he added. "Just had to go out there with a fresh pair of shoes. Yeah, it was just difficult. Luckily I didn't have a wedding ring attached. I didn't lose that, so it was a bonus for me."
Having to play with a brand new pair of shoes did affect Cameron Norrie's play in the final at first. Norrie likes to play in shoes that are a little used, as newer ones feel a bit heavy.
However, the 26-year-old didn't want to spend the entire match just thinking about shoes and he eventually made his peace with it, focusing on things that he could manage. The change in mindset worked, and Norrie pulled out a win.
"No, I don't think it mattered too much," the Brit said. "Ideally I like to play with shoes that I've been using for maybe five or six hits or practices or warmups. I like to have them a little bit used. They feel a bit heavy in general if they're a bit newer. A couple times I was just thinking about it, probably not the best thing."
"You don't want to be thinking about your shoes," he added. "A little bit to get used to. At one point I said, 'Alright, these are the shoes I got, I'm just going to focus on what I can control right now.' I wore them in a little bit, came good in the end."
Cameron Norrie's historic win has further boosted his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals
Cameron Norrie also talked about his journey to the upper echeleon of men's tennis, which has been slow and steady. Norrie moved through the Challenger levels rapidly, but his progress stalled for a while on the main tour.
The 26-year-old has put in a lot of effort to make the improvements required to take the next step forward, and that is showing in his results.
"I think my progression with tennis has been pretty steady," Norrie said. "Obviously not been too quick to get up. Went through the Challengers fairly quickly. Around kind of 60 to 80, I was stuck there, then made a jump forward. I think I've just been working hard and progressing nicely, making small improvements in my game and in my ranking."
Will @cam_norrie finish his season at the #NittoATPFinals?
He moves up to No. 10 in the @FedEx ATP Race to Turin. https://t.co/VYwkuzY6tn
Cameron Norrie went on to point out that he was in contention for the season-ending ATP Finals even before Indian Wells. Norrie also believes it isn't healthy to obsess over the qualification, since all anyone can do is try and win enough matches.
The Brit isn't going to play every single remaining tournament to qualify; he has already pulled out of the ATP 250 in Antwerp this week. As of now, Norrie is set to play in Vienna, Paris and Stockholm.
"Yeah, even before the tournament I was in the hunt," Norrie said. "I think before I was 14 or 15 in the race. I had a chance. I was thinking about it. If you think about it too much, it can't be good for you. I was, 'Alright, just take care of the matches'."
"I was meant to play Antwerp next week, but it's going to be tough," he added. "I ended up pulling out of that one. I'm playing Vienna, Paris, and Stockholm, the last three events indoors. It would be nice to make it, but I'm going to keep going, keep taking care of what I can and handling what I can. We'll see how it goes."
Norrie further mentioned that being in contention for a spot in the ATP Finals so late in the season is quite unusual for him. If someone had told him that he'd be in this position at the start of the year, he'd have been happy as it would've indicated his improvement.
"I think even being in the conversation this late in the year with, what, four tournaments left after this, I think that's impressive for me," Norrie said. "If you would have told me before the year that would be the case, I would have been happy. I think that's a lot of good progression."
Cameron Norrie admitted that the Indian Wells title has tilted things in his favor, but reiterated that he has been consistent throughout the year anyway.
"I think throughout the year I've been pretty consistent and been in the hunt with being in the top kind of 15 in the race all year," Norrie said. "It's not been a surprise or not thought anything, but I've always had a good chance."
Cameron Norrie also talked about how his experience and years on the tour helped him stay calm and play some of his best tennis in the later stages of the tournament, against quality players like Diego Schwartzman and Grigor Dimitrov. Norrie attributed his comeback in the final to his newfound maturity, especially the way he managed to stay in the match despite things not going his way initially.
"I think in the past, a little bit with my experience, being on the tour four years now, I was very calm in the bigger moments and I played unbelievable, my best tennis, against Diego and Grigor in the quarters and semis. Those were huge matches for me," Norrie said.
"To come out and play that level, to manage to turn it round today, especially after things didn't go my way early on, and he's difficult, not really giving you any rhythm, I was able to get my foot in the door, able to hang around, cause some trouble in the third set, really feel like I was moving well in the end."
An unforgettable night for @cam_norrie 😍
Enjoy his best shots from a stunning Indian Wells title win!
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