Cameron Norrie credits Tim Henman and other coaches for his win over Rafael Nadal at the United Cup
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Cameron Norrie, Tim Henman and Rafael Nadal
Cameron Norrie had a brilliant end to his year as he registered his maiden Top-3 win. Norrie was up against World No. 2 Rafael Nadal at the 2023 United Cup and won the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Nadal had defeated Norrie in all of their previous four meetings including the 2022 Acapulco Open finals.
The British southpaw became the first man since Andy Murray in 2016 to defeat the Spaniard. Prior to this meeting with the 22-time Grand Slam champion, Norrie had lost eight consecutive matches against the Top-3. His wait finally ended after he overcame Nadal after 2 hours and 45 minutes to claim the win.
Following the win, the British No. 1 heaped praise on the coaching team at the United Cup. He mentioned Tim Henman‘s constant confidence boosting to go for the win. Henman and Nadal played twice before the Briton retired. Nadal had won both those matches in straight-sets but the experience of Henman proved vital for Norrie.
“The best thing about these events is that with the team behind you, you have to believe in yourself to win. Tim said to me throughout the match: ‘You play better than him, you can beat him’. It gave me a lot of confidence. It’s the first step to getting there, having Tim, my coach Facu and the team present without lowering the energy. Tim won a lot of big matches, he played twice against Rafa,” said Norrie after his win over Nadal.
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Cameron Norrie’s win hands team Britain a big advantage
Following Cameron Norrie‘s win, Spain went 0-1 down in the tie. To make matters worse for them, Nuria Parrizas Dias also lost in 3-sets to Katie Swan. The end of the day’s play saw the Britishers lead 2-0 in the tie.
Having defeated the host-nation Australia in the first match, the Britons are in a great position to top the group. For Spain to make a comeback, they would need to rely on Paula Badosa and Albert Ramos-Vinolas to win their individual ties. Pablo Carreno Busta had to withdraw which promoted Vinolas into the draw.
A win in the two matches for Spain will force a mixed-doubles tiebreak to determine the winner of the tie. With only the group winners progressing to the next round, Norrie and Co. can book their spot today with the win over Rafael Nadal‘s Spain.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)