Cameron Norrie’s start to the 2023 season continues to blossom after the world No.12 booked his place in the final of the ASB Classic on Friday.
Norrie, who is the second seed in the ATP 250 event being staged in Auckland, eased his way past Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-4, in his semi-final clash. Throughout the match, he dropped serve only once and won 87% of his first service points. He sealed the victory by winning four games in a row.
“I was serving well, hitting my spots well and winning a lot of the longer rallies,” Norrie said afterwards.
“Jenson is really tricky, he puts the ball in such awkward parts of the court.
“But I was able to use my legs, win some of the longer rallies and it looked like his energy dropped off towards the end.”
It is the second time Norrie has reached the final of the ASB Classic after 2019 when he played his first-ever ATP title match of any kind. Overall, Saturday’s final will be his 12th on the Tour.
Whilst he represents Great Britain, the Wimbledon semi-finalist has close connections to New Zealand. He was born in South Africa but moved to Auckland at the age of three with his family. In 2013 he switched allegiance to the UK as he qualified through his parents. His mum and dad, who are microbiologists, are originally from Cardiff and Glasgow.
“I really want to show New Zealand what I’ve got,” Norrie said earlier this week.
“There are a lot of people in New Zealand tennis that know me and grew up helping me, coaching me and it’s very special for them to see me play.
“Also to give back to the younger generation, I was one of those kids at the tournament watching, so hopefully someone can see a guy like me, who went to Macleans College, grew up in Bucklands Beach and was a local kid.
“Now, to be ranked where I am and to be playing these tournaments, with a chance to win them, is pretty cool and hopefully some juniors can look at that and think they can do the same.”
Norrie will play French veteran Richard Gasquet in the final who received a walkover in his semi-final match.
At the Adelaide International, another British player narrowly missed out on a place in his maiden ATP Final. Jack Draper, who beat seeded players Tommy Paul and Karen Khachanov earlier in the week, fell in three sets to South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo despite hitting 18 aces. The world No.40 lost 7-6(6), 6-7(2), 6-3, after almost three hours of play.
Draper will now begin to prepare for a mouthwatering first round encounter with defending champion Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open next week.
