CAMERON NORRIE KNOCKS JACK DRAPER OUT OF WIMBLEDON IN BRITISH SHOWDOWN

Cameron Norrie has dumped Jack Draper out of Wimbledon 2024 to secure revenge over the player who replaced him as the British No.1 last month.

The duo awkwardly met on Thursday, with Draper admitting before the match that Norrie ‘won’t like’ the fact that he lost his status as the top British star in June.

Norrie, who was a Wimbledon semi-finalist just two years ago, held the British No.1 spot from October 2021 to June 2024 before Draper recently overtook him.

Despite behind ranked below Draper and heading into the Championships unseeded, it was Norrie who recorded a 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) win on the No.1 Court.

The result means that Norrie, 28, has earned a spot in the third round and he’ll next play fourth-seed Alexander Zverev or unseeded American Marcos Giron.

Draper, who was seeded 28th in the men’s singles, was hoping to produce his best-ever run in SW19 having only ever reached the second round before 2024.

But he was unable to get the job done against his fellow Brit Norrie – despite his glowing form heading into Wimbledon – which saw Draper clinch his first ATP Tour title and produce a remarkable win over Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s Club.

Draper, 22, has been compared to a young Andy Murray and Murray himself is a huge fan of the British No.1, telling Metro that he’s set for a ‘big future’ in tennis.

But for now, the focus is firmly back on Norrie, who has become the last British man standing in the men’s singles at Wimbledon 2024.

Norrie is hoping for a career resurgence after tumbling down the rankings from his career-high world No.8 spot in 2022 to his current ranking of world No.42.

‘I just love this court,’ Norrie said after the match. ‘It wasn’t easy coming out to play Jack today, he’s been playing so well. We’re such good friends off the court but we had to put that to one side today.

‘I felt I was a bit of an underdog coming into today so I was pretty relaxed. I was happy with my level today and it’s nice to get through. 

‘I’m feeling good physically. I just wanted to trust in my movement and trust in my legs, I knew I’d had some good practice so I’m just glad to use that today and use my experience against Jack. It wasn’t an easy match, it was a bit nervy towards the end in that tie-break but I managed to stay calm enough to get it done.’

2024-07-04T18:25:44Z dg43tfdfdgfd