Cameron Norrie came through a five-set epic against Nicolas Jarry to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, but his tactics have come under fire from Pat Cash
(Image: GLYN KIRK, AFP via Getty Images)
Wimbledon quarter-finalist Cam Norrie has been accused of exploiting a timing rule ahead of his last eight showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.
The British ace found himself in hot water after his five-set win over Nicolas Jarry on Sunday. Tensions were high as Norrie clinched match point after an intense four and a half hour battle, with Jarry furious.
The Chilean wasn’t shy in raising his grievances about Norrie’s stalling tactics between serves, bringing it up to the chair umpire, and the pair had a notably chilly handshake post-match as Jarry bypassed the usual wait by the net.
Wimbledon legend Pat Cash has since weighed in on Norrie’s tactics, telling the BBC that Norrie might well have intentionally taken advantage of the ‘ridiculous’ lack of a shot clock for time between serves.
Cash remarked: “They [the players] had a little natter about the ball bouncing. I don’t know if he [Norrie] was trying to get some rest but the excessive ball bouncing was, well, excessive.
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“I’ve never seen that before so maybe it was just the state he was in during the match. After the first serve you can sort of take as much time as you like, it’s a sort of silly anomaly of the rule.
“You have to serve by a certain time on the shot clock, but as long as you get to the line and throw the ball in the air, you can take as much time as you like after that, which is ridiculous. Cam sort of milked that a bit. Maybe he was tired.”
Cash did defend Norrie’s methods too, stating: “I don’t think Cam does it that extreme. Novak [Djokovic] used to bounce the ball 20 or 30 times.
“He is regrouping himself and that’s the anomaly of the rule. I don’t agree with quite a few of the silly rules of tennis that they have. But Norrie is within his rights to do so.”
(Image: Wayne Taylor, Getty Images for Citi)
Norrie had a hunch he might have ruffled Jarry’s feathers by being ‘too vocal,’ but Jarry addressed things in his post-match press conference.
“I don’t know the rules, so I was asking [the umpire] what I asked,” Jarry explained. “He’s very competitive, so he knows how to make the most of the important games in the important parts of the match.”
Now Norrie takes on two-time Wimbledon champion and world No.2 Alcaraz – with Tim Henman giving him a 100-1 chance of success.
Cameron Norrie is set to take on Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals(Image: Getty Images)
Henman said: “I just think it’s a difficult match up. How does he beat him? In normal circumstances you would say try and shorten the points, but that isn’t the Norrie style. Does he want to extend the points? Against Alcaraz that is difficult. He’s got to serve very well.
“He’s got to extend the rallies at times. He’s got to take risks from the back of the court. He’s got to keep flattening out that backhand, which is effective on grass. And he’s probably got to hope that Alcaraz has a bad day. I think that’s the reality.
“Anyone’s beatable. If they played 100 times, can Norrie win one? Maybe. It’s unlikely. But it’s sport. There are no scripts.
“And I know Cam well, he’s a great competitor. He gets absolutely everything out of his game. He’s got to believe he can do it. But if they played 100 times, he probably can win once.”
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