Cameron Norrie is hoping seventh time’s a charm when he takes on Alexander Zverev in the third round of the Australian Open.
Norrie has become the reliable face of British tennis, failing to reach the last 32 at a Grand Slam only three times in his last 15 appearances.
He is the last British singles player standing once again after battling to a four-set win over American Emilio Nava on Wednesday.
Next up, he faces a familiar foe in third seed Zverev, who has won all six of their tour-level meetings, but Norrie goes into the clash in bullish spirits.
“I think I can trouble him, for sure,” said the 26th seed. “I’m going to have to really play a complete match and play well for four hours, I think, to have a chance with him.
“I really can take a lot of confidence from the first three weeks of the year, how I’m managing my service games, how I’m putting a lot of returns in court. I feel like I’m there every single point.
“I know that’s kind of my trademark, to be there every point. I think I’ve been doing a really good job with that. My tennis has been there. I’ve been feeling the ball great. I think mentally I’m feeling in a good place.”
Norrie was close to dropping outside the top 100 last spring after injury problems and a dip in form, but he has bounced back impressively and is now pushing towards a return to the top 20.
He was helped against Nava by the raucous support he received from an enthusiastic crowd and, although there will not be the same feeling of spectators hanging over the court at the cavernous John Cain Arena, there should still be a good atmosphere in the night session.
Norrie was defeated by Zverev at Wimbledon in 2024
And for evidence of how he can trouble Zverev, who reached his third Grand Slam final here last year, Norrie only needs to look back two years to their meeting in the last 16 at Melbourne Park.
There, Norrie pushed the German all the way to a fifth-set tie-break before losing – one of five defeats to top-10 players he has had at his last seven slams.
“I’ll definitely watch that one,” said Norrie. “I used the drop shot unreal that day. I was playing so free, enjoying the match so much, coming forward a lot. I was troubling him a lot and mixing it up a lot. I think I’m going to have to sprinkle some of that in, for sure.”
The 30-year-old knows a change he will make if he finds himself in the same situation, saying: “I think maybe in that fifth-set tie-break I used (the drop shot) too much and missed a couple of shots I would not usually go for.
“I think he’ll remember that match. It was so tough. But I’m excited to have another crack at him. I’m going to remember that, if I’m in the fifth set tie-break again, I’ll try to be more aggressive and be the one going for it, maybe not to bail out on a drop shot.”
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