The fifth was the charm for Cameron Norrie. The British tennis player, 27 years old and current number 14 in the world, was finally able to surpass Rafael Nadal in a victory that he considers “as the most important” of his career, even though it comes in the United Cup. “I have always believed that I had good tennis to play against him, but he would overwhelm me every time we played. The first times I played against him were on clay, once in Australia and once in the final in Acapulco. This was the third time on hard court and I felt like he was able to neutralize the points a bit more and not let him dominate as much with his forehand as I found more depth with mine,” Norrie explained. “I’ve honestly felt good in the rallies, in the longer exchanges, so most of them fell on my side. Even in the first set I felt more comfortable from the back of the court. I only missed a couple of easy volleys and was a bit unlucky at net. Once I eliminated those errors, I signed a solid match, “he added in statements taken up by ‘Punto de Break’. On the meaning of his first victory against the top Grand Slam winner, he indicated: “I know it is his first match of the year, but it was a great victory. He tore me apart the last four or five times we’ve played, so I’m glad I was able to win once. I really played well and kept my nerves throughout the game.” Norrie has the goal of being able to win a Grand Slam in the 2023 season, will he achieve it?
Rafael Nadal will face Alex de Minaur
Media consultant, former top 10 player, Brad Gilbert measures the words of each champion. And when after his defeat against Norrie, Rafael Nadal is “harassed” by the media about retirement, the Spaniard prefers to smile, just like Brad. Suddenly, Brad makes an appointment with the entire tennis world because he rightly considers that Rafa is far from putting his racket away. “Unfortunately, even after that Rafael Nadal asks you to stop asking questions about his retirement, he will return to Melbourne, with his greatness and his humility, and he will know how to remember it when the time comes.” 22-time Major champion Rafael Nadal will lock horns with Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the round-robin stage of the 2023 United Cup on Monday.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login