Cam Norrie’s Wimbledon came to an abrupt end courtesy of Carlos Alcaraz’s brilliance.
The Brit enjoyed an impressive run to the last eight for the first time since 2022 and reminded everyone of the qualities he brings to a tennis court.
‘The 22-year-old produced his best performance of his title defence so far, quietening the home fans who were hopeful of an upset.
Carlos Alcaraz has advanced to the quarter-finals where he will play Taylor Fritz, while Norrie is left to reflect on an impressive run at Wimbledon.
Cam Norrie says how he felt playing against Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon
Cameron Norrie lost four of six previous meetings with Alcaraz prior to their Wimbledon quarter-final.
In fact, the world number 61 won their last meeting in the 2023 Rio Final in three exciting sets with Alcaraz battling injury.
Just over two years later, Norrie and Alcaraz competed in their first Grand Slam match since the 2021 US Open and it was one-way traffic.
Alcaraz needed just one hour and 39 minutes to defeat Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, which is his shortest match of the tournament so far.
Norrie failed to convert all five of his break point opportunities and he no answer for the world number two’s ruthlessness and efficiency on Centre Court.
Post-match Norrie was extremely impressed with the level Alcaraz produced and he backed him to win a third successive Wimbledon title.
“It was a good experience to play probably the best player in the world at the moment, most confident player, on his best surface,” Norrie said during his post-match press conference. “I think he is the favourite, for sure. His level was unreal.
“I felt like a lot of the time, if I didn’t do enough with the ball, he was going to punish me with a lot of his different options, with power. He’s got the drop [shot] as well available.
“So I think I was missing a little bit more because I was pressing a bit more than usual, but I think that’s credit to him – his physicality, his movement and power.”
Carlos Alcaraz sends message to Cam Norrie after beating him at Wimbledon
Alcaraz was in no mood to take his foot off the accelerator against Norrie.
The five-time Grand Slam champion won 14 of 16 serve and volley points and also won 89% of first-serve points during the contest.
Alcaraz, who also hit 12 aces during the Wimbledon quarter-final, took some time post-match to praise Norrie and his progress over the past fortnight.
“I’m just really happy to be able to play another semi-final here at Wimbledon,” said Alcaraz. “It’s something really special and something that I wanted to do at the beginning of the week.
“I’m really happy with the level that I played today against a difficult player like Cam. I’m pretty sure that there is nobody working harder than him, so I’m happy to see him playing these kinds of matches.”
