Queen's Club: Andy Murray 'ready to return' - Cameron Norrie

Cameron Norrie practises before his Queen's opener against Stan Wawrinka

It was with tongue firmly in cheek and a glint in his eye that Cameron Norrie announced himself as the new Scottish number one.

He's come from outside the world's top 250 to inside the top 80 in under a year. A rise so rapid that, for the first time in his senior career, Andy Murray is no longer the top-ranked Scot on the tennis tour. So does the triple Grand Slam winner mind the new order of things?

"I've not asked him," Norrie replied. "I was going to have a little dig at him when I was playing him but chose not to. But no, I think he's going to challenge me soon for my ranking."

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Norrie, 22, has firm grounds for holding that opinion. He's seen Murray up close and personal for the past few days, having been chosen by the former world number one as a practice partner. He's adamant Murray is choosing the right time to return to the tour, and was impressed with the practice sets they played against each other.

"We played at a great level a couple of days ago and he actually asked me if I thought he was ready or not," said Norrie. "I told him that he was and he was moving great and hitting the ball well.

"Obviously he hasn't played any matches but I think he's ready. It's just great to have him back and it's very nice of him to seek me out and just be on court with him again. You can learn so much from him and his professionalism and the way he does things. He's just a great idol for British tennis in general."

Quite a transformation then for Norrie, who 12 months ago had never even met Murray.

"It was exactly this time last year that I was here in the Queen's locker room and he came up to me and my coach and just introduced himself to us," Norrie explained.

"I just thought it was very humble of him to do that. It was great to meet him; I'd always wanted to meet him. He's just a very nice guy, down to earth and it's great just to have him back in general."

Both Norrie and Murray have been handed tricky first-round assignments at the newly named Fever-Tree Championships. Murray faces Australia's Nick Kyrgios on Tuesday while Norrie's first-round match on Monday is against three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.

• Monday's Queen's Club schedule of play

'I'm 100% happy to be claimed as Scottish'

Murray's main stated aim, however, has been to test his game and his hip, following January's surgery, by practising with some of the top players. Norrie witnessed first hand the strides the double Wimbledon champion has recently made.

"I hit with him once before, just before Eastbourne last year," said Norrie. "And he was hitting the ball here just as big as he was then and moving well. He even ended up serving really well in the end. So I feel like his level is there and it's just going to be a matter of getting matches under his belt and getting a bit of confidence.

Norrie on Murray: "It's just nice to have him around"

"It's always going to be tough for him coming back but he's won Grand Slams in the past and he's been world number one so he's got the confidence within him to come back and prove to everyone that he can do it again. Let's just hope his hip holds up. I wish him all the best. It's just nice to have him around to bounce some ideas off, maybe, if I need something."

Cosmopolitan is a word that springs to mind when it comes to Norrie.

The 22-year-old was born in South Africa to a Glaswegian father and a Welsh mother. He was raised in New Zealand before going on to play the collegiate tennis circuit in the United States. His father David, however, made sure his allegiance would always remain with Scotland, where he still has family in Aberdeenshire.

"I'm 100% happy to be claimed as Scottish," Norrie added. "And the new Scottish number one? I'll take it, for sure. I'll try to hold on to that as long as I can. We'll see."