Cam Norrie wins five-set thriller to set up Wimbledon semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic
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Cam Norrie broke new ground once again on Tuesday evening – becoming only the fourth British man to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon in the Open Era.
Norrie put in a stunning effort to come back from 2-1 down to defeat former world No.7 David Goffin 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in a five-set thriller on Court 1.
He’s the first British male to make the semi-final since Andy Murray in 2016, before he went on to win his second Wimbledon title.
Before this week, Norrie had never progressed beyond the third round at a Grand Slam but now stands just one match away from making the final of his home major at Wimbledon.
“I’m honestly speechless, I can’t even talk,” said an emotional Norrie, straight off one of the biggest win of his career.
“It wasn’t going my way from the beginning and that was full credit to David. But thanks to you guys (the crowd) I managed to stay as patient as I could and I got through on adrenaline.
“Just winning a match like... I’m in shock! You get flashbacks of all the hard work and the pre-seasons and how it has all paid off – it feels pretty good!”
However, he’ll face a tough challenge if he is to reach the final, in the form of six-time champion Novak Djokovic. The Serbian is undefeated in his last 26 matches at SW19 having also come through a five-set battle with 10th seed Jannik Sinner.
The two have faced each other only once, where Djokovic came through in straight sets in the 2021 Nitto ATP Tour Finals.
“It only gets tougher and I’m going to enjoy that – hopefully you guys can get behind me and I’m looking forward to it. I'm going to take it to him.”
Goffin was on fire in the opening set, effortlessly picking his spots off his groundstrokes as he broke the Brit on his one and only break point at 3-2.
Having served out the first set, Goffin looked to push on at the start of the second and broke again to go 4-3 up, with the signs looking troubling for the Brit.
Renowned for his fighting spirit and never say die attitude, Norrie continued to battle to stay in the set and proved efficient in the big points – winning two out of three break points to claim the four of the next five games.
Norrie’s intensity dropped at the start of the third and he struggled on serve – losing over half of his points on first serve – as Goffin took charge once again and moved just one set away from the semi-final. However, he couldn’t shake off the British No.1 who channelled the support from the crowd to raise his game once more, breaking in the dying embers of the fourth and force a decider.
The further the match went in the fifth, the more and more Goffin began to tire and Norrie was able to take advantage. The Belgian had served brilliantly throughout the match, but the moment his level dropped at 5-5, Norrie pounced. His superior energy levels ultimately proved the decisive factor as Goffin shot wide to give him the all-important break before serving out a historic win in front of the thousands of cheering British fans.
