Novak Djokovic is the player to beat in 2023, says Cameron Norrie
Novak Djokovic is the player to beat next year, according to World No. 14 Cameron Norrie. Having seen the Serb dominate 2022 despite being prevented from playing most major tournaments, the Brit has no doubt that the 21-time Grand Slam champion can dominate 2023 given that he might be allowed to play the full spectrum of events.
Speaking to Eurosport (as collected by ESPN Mexico), Norrie remarked that he had "a lot of respect" for Djokovic and that it was incredible to see him finish 2022 in the spectacular manner that he did, winning three of his last four competitions.
"[Novak] Djokovic is the opponent to beat next year. He had an incredible season playing a limited number of tournaments. I have a lot of respect for him, it's incredible what he did to finish the year as did," Cameron Norrie said.
The 27-year-old went on to talk about his plans for the new year, admitting that he wanted to be World No. 1 and that he was doing everything in his power to propel himself to the position.
"I want to be number one in the world, that is a great objective for me. Obviously, there are many things that I must achieve before, I haven't been in the Top-5 yet, so that's a goal that I want to keep in mind to make sure that I'm practicing every day for that and trying to be the best player in the world. It's a tough goal and a long way to go," Norrie said.
While the Brit conceded that it was a goal that was tougher than it sounded, he stated that he had enough confidence in his abilities to duke it out at the top level. With the older generation starting to "wane," he feels there are lots of opportunities for players like him to rise and take up their spots.
"Anyone can say that they want to be number one, but in the last years that I have had, and the level that I have given, I feel that I am playing tennis well and there are many things in which I can improve my game. With some great players starting to wane, there are plenty of possibilities and opportunities. I feel like I'm among the best players in the world, I train with them, I win and I play tight matches. I am exactly where I want to be and I want to stay there. I'm someone who's never really satisfied."
"I want to improve everything, I have many things to improve" - Cameron Norrie
Over the course of the interview, Cameron Norrie accepted that he still has areas he can improve on, stating that he wants to focus on the physical side of things in particular so he can play more matches next year.
"I want to improve everything. I have many things to improve. At the beginning of the preseason, you want to focus a lot on the physical aspect and spend a lot of time in the gym to strengthen yourself because during the year you play many games," Cameron Norrie said.
The main thing, however, is for him to be ready for the Australian Open, which he was preparing for with exhibition tournaments before the Melbourne Major.
"It's hard to do that work in the gym so my first focus is to be ready physically but you also want to win the shows which is a really fun format but the main thing is to be ready for Australia I would also like to raise my level in the net and dare to go higher, another aspect to work on is the drop shots," Cameron Norrie said.