Wimbledon: Cameron Norrie says reaching semi-finals is 'pretty sick' after Novak Djokovic loss
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Wimbledon 2022: Watch highlights of Novak Djokovic beating Cameron Norrie
Wimbledon 2022 on the BBC |
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Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. |
Britain's Cameron Norrie says reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals was "pretty sick" and given him added belief he can win a Grand Slam title in the future.
The 26-year-old, ranked 12th in the world, made a confident start in his last-four match against defending champion Novak Djokovic.
But Norrie faded as Djokovic improved to win 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 on Centre Court.
On the experience, Norrie said: "I want to go more and do more of that, go further and try to win a Slam."
The left-hander was bidding to become only the fourth Briton to reach the final at the All England Club in the Open era.
It was his first major semi-final having never previously gone past the third round of a major.
After a confident start, Norrie began to make more mistakes as 20-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic's level improved to set up a meeting with Australia's Nick Kyrgios in Sunday's final.
"I think it was a good experience obviously to play Novak, especially the level he brings here at Wimbledon," said Norrie.
"It gives me a lot of confidence.
"To reach the semis, reach the Friday of the second week, is pretty sick. But, I mean, it doesn't mean anything.
"It's nice to do it and experience it. l loved it, loved every moment of it.
"I think I need to keep working hard and still got a lot of things I can improve on my game."
Wimbledon 2022: Djokovic booed for blowing kiss at crowd after Norrie win
Norrie had been bidding to become the second British man after Andy Murray to reach a Wimbledon men's singles final in the Open era.
Throughout the Wimbledon fortnight, he received wonderful backing from the home crowds and it culminated with a partisan atmosphere on Centre Court for the semi-final.
Wimbledon's famous Hill was also packed with supporters watching on the big screen, willing him to a victory which looked like it could be on the cards when he took advantage of a sluggish start from Djokovic.
However the Serb, who is aiming for a fourth successive Wimbledon title, upped his quality as the match progressed to come through and win.
Afterwards, Djokovic praised Norrie and said he expected him to have many more chances to reach a Grand Slam final.
"He's an all-around player and a very professional guy," Djokovic said.
"I see the things that he's doing off the court. With this kind of approach, I feel like you're always going to get chances."
Ninth seed Norrie, who beat Pablo Andujar, Jaume Munar, Steve Johnson, Tommy Paul and David Goffin to reach the semi-finals, added: "I think I have a lot of stuff to be proud of.
"Coming in here pretty highly seeded, a lot of expectations from everyone around the country - and from myself especially.
"Coming in here and kind of getting through the draw in the fashion that I did, handling the occasions of playing Centre Court, playing Court One, and playing guys that I'm actually favourite to beat.
"Everyone got behind me. The atmosphere was incredible. Especially serving that game out against Goffin to make my first semi-final was pretty crazy."
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