Cam Norrie has enjoyed a year to remember in 2022, with a South African-born son of Scottish and Welsh parents who was raised in New Zealand now proudly flying a sporting flag for Great Britain. Potential that has been clear to see for some time is now being fulfilled by a man who is starting to believe that he can not only compete with the best in the business, but give them the odd rude awakening as well.
His game, like many in the modern era, is set up to be competitive on any given surface at any given time. While some may find the transition from hard courts to clay and grass difficult, Norrie has shown that he has enough weapons in his arsenal to hold his own from Melbourne to Flushing Meadows via Paris and London.
Consistency
Consistency was always going to be key in any bid to join the elite and, with Betfair tennis odds pricing him at 33/1 for Australian Open glory in 2023 and 40/1 to prevail at Wimbledon, that string has been added to a rather impressive bow.
With Roger Federer removing himself from the reckoning heading forward, Novak Djokovic being forced out of it at times and Andy Murray merely happy to be playing again given all that he has been through, a new era in men’s tennis is ready to be embraced. With this new era of tennis emerging, you can follow the latest tennis betting tips to keep up to date with the favourites for any upcoming tours’
Norrie will believe that he can form part of that, with windows of opportunity that were once routinely slammed in collective faces now being allowed to swing open on a regular basis. There are, of course, still a select few who regularly make their way to the business end of Glam Slam and Masters 1000 events, but more fresh faces are standing up alongside the established ones.
That may be true at the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in Turin, with some rookies in that field seeking to ensure that a notable duck is broken before the end of the calendar year. Norrie slips seamlessly into that category as a serious runner and ride in a congested field.
His race is far from being run and there is still all to play for with only eight places on a plane to Italy up for grabs. There are no more majors in which to line individual pockets with elaborate hauls of ranking points, but there is still plenty of tennis to be played.
Pack
Getting over the line will not be easy, with there some heavy-hitting names still on the outside looking in, but momentum at this stage will be rewarded as those staging late surges seek to put themselves in contention for more major silverware.
Norrie is very much in the mix having reached the second week of two Slams over the course of the last 12 months – with a memorable run to the last four on home soil in SW19 forming part of what has been a breakthrough campaign. With the final party of 2022 now about to throw open its doors, will the knocking of Britain’s No.1 earn him a seat inside for the first time in his career?