Cameron Norrie continued his strong start to the grass-court season as he overcame the challenges presented by one of the trickiest players on the box and progressed to the Queen’s Club quarter-finals for the second time. After trailing by a set, Norrie soared, recovering to defeat Jordan Thompson 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
“It was the perfect match,” he said. “Jordan really likes the grass. He played a couple of good points to break me and I played a few drop points and that was the difference in the first set. I thought I played well so I didn’t don’t really need to change too much.
Over the past few years, Thompson has earned a reputation for his grass-court prowess. The 29-year-old has reached two ATP finals, both on grass, the second in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last week when he lost to home favorite Tallon Griekspoor in three tight sets.
Unlike most players on the tour outside of Britain, Thompson spent much of his youth competing on grass and he developed a game suitable for all courts, with a soft backhand and precise serve. , which comes to life on the surface.
The Australian was sharp from the start. As is often the case on this surface, the opening set was decided by a few points. Thompson served impeccably, firing 10 aces in his first five service games and the difference between the two players was a loose service game from Norrie.
In the second set, Norrie fought his way into the ascendancy. The fifth seed began to read Thompson’s serve much more effectively, getting plenty of returns while taking care of her own service games.
Norrie’s flat backhand, which slides so low on the grass, also proved a nightmare for Thompson as the game dragged on. After leveling the match, Norrie broke serve in the opener of the third set and marched to victory.
“I was able to come out with a lot more energy in the third set and that was the difference,” he said. “There wasn’t much in it. It was definitely a good game to go through and a perfect match, heading to Wimbledon, to start the summer on grass.
Norrie’s quarter-final opponent will be Sebastian Korda, who beat fourth-seeded Frances Tiafoe 7-6(2), 6-3 on Wednesday night.
Norrie said: “It’s really good to be this consistent, but you always want more. It’s really addictive, you want to get better results. It’s been very consistent, which is good, but I want to keep pushing for more and keep playing my best tennis in the bigger tournaments and especially in a huge tournament like Queen’s.
Norrie had teamed up with Andy Murray in doubles but, following his first round loss to Alex de Minaur in singles action on Tuesday, the Scot chose to withdraw from the first round match against Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram due to fatigue.