Nick Kyrgios, the king of gamesmanship in tennis, has given his verdict on Cam Norrie’s antics during his latest Wimbledon win yesterday.
Facing Nicolas Jarry, the first two sets suggested that the Brit would be cruising into the quarter-finals.
However, during the break between the second and third sets, the Chilean launched into a rant about his opponent, who was absent for a toilet break.
Complaining about the time taken between first and second serve, he pleaded with the umpire to tell him the rules on this matter. She had no answers, and Cam Norrie would eventually win in five sets after a dramatic fightback from the frustrated giant.
Nick Kyrgios has now weighed in on this debate.
Nick Kyrgios discussed Cam Norrie’s behaviour vs Nicolas Jarry
Speaking on talkSPORT just this morning, Kyrgios could not comb over yesterday’s Wimbledon action without discussing Norrie’s triumphant victory.
And, crucially, the gamesmanship that led Nicolas Jarry to rant to the umpire mid-match.
Asked about the Brit’s ball-bouncing theatrics, the Australian admitted: ‘Tennis just has so many grey areas on the rules. Rafa Nadal, when I played him, his time between first and second serves was a long time and it did put you off.
‘Novak went through a phase where he would bounce the ball and I think it was a record 55 or 60 times, something crazy.
‘So this is where home court advantage [comes into play], I think. Cameron Norrie is the only Brit left on the men’s side. 20 bounces really isn’t too bad in my opinion.
‘But I think we just need to talk about how good Cameron Norrie has been. He has been locked in for the first week of Wimbledon and yesterday playing Jarry is not easy. Jarry has beaten some quality players, getting to the fourth round and Norrie again making quarter-finals here. He is someone who is just a veteran of the tour now; he knows how to win at Grand Slams.
‘And to steady the ship after being two sets to love up is not an easy task, especially in front of your home crowd. So props to Norrie, I think he is very underrated and maybe he’s someone who is a bit underappreciated in British tennis. He is always knocking at the door in these Grand Slams and plays his best tennis in my opinion at Wimbledon.
‘You make it this far and anything can really happen, to be honest.’
Cam Norrie won’t care how his behaviour is perceived
Realistically, Norrie seems strong-willed enough to remain unbothered by any complaints about his behaviour.
After all, he is the one in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Speaking on court after the match, Norrie revealed what Jarry said to him at the net.
In short, the 29-year-old stated: ‘He said I was a little bit vocal and I think that’s my energy.’
It will be interesting to see whether Carlos Alcaraz will be similarly affected by these psychological tactics, and if he lobbies the same complaints to the umpire.
