Pushing one of the all-time greats at a Grand Slam tournament is a measure of how far Norrie has come over the past several months.
After a chastening first-round exit at the Miami Open in March, Norrie flew home to Europe and had a deep think about the direction of his career.
The 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist was perilously close to dropping out of the world’s top 100, struggling to regain form and confidence following a forearm injury which disrupted his 2024 season.
A heart-to-heart with his team followed. The collective conclusion was the group needed to lighten up a little, vowing to enjoy life on tour more again.
Since then, Norrie has reached the French Open fourth round – where he lost to Djokovic – and the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Even another defeat by Djokovic did not leave him overly disappointed, given where he found himself earlier this year.
“It has been fun – I wouldn’t change anything in this tournament,” said Norrie.
“There is so much to smile about.”
Before the match, Norrie said he was “ready for anything” from Djokovic – including seeing him struggle with fitness issues before regaining his level.
That is exactly what happened on an entertaining night on Ashe.
Norrie wanted to turn the match into a physical contest, given Djokovic’s perceived vulnerabilities, but was unable to sustain his level.
“I wouldn’t change too much, I tried to play my brand of tennis, I tried to make it physical,” said Norrie.
“In the third and fourth sets I gave him too many cheap points and that was the difference.”
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
