‘I’m always picking his brains’: Norrie faces old mentor Murray as favourite

Many years ago, during the 2017 edition of the pre‑Wimbledon tournament at Queen’s Club, Cameron Norrie was in the midst of taking his first small step towards the top levels of professional tennis after college when he was granted a rare privilege. For the first time in his life, he had been drafted as a practice partner for the great Andy Murray. As an inexperienced wildcard about to meet the No 1 player in the world, he did not know what to do.

“He came up to me and introduced himself, which I thought was extremely humble of him and nice,” Norrie recalled, smiling. “I think I was practising with him later that week or in the afternoon. I was pretty tight: ‘Do I go and say hi to him or not? Does he even know who I am?’ I thought it was very cool that he came up to me and introduced himself. I practised with him that week and then, obviously, we’ve practised a lot in the last couple of years.”

Five long years since their first meeting, the balance of power has gradually shifted. On Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati’s suburbs, Norrie and Murray will face each other in the second round as equals. Murray remains the former world No 1 who has achieved so much in this sport, but these days Norrie is naturally the clear favourite as a top‑10 player in the form of his life.

“It definitely took me a couple of years to catch up with my level,” Norrie said. “For the most part, I was having to play at my best in practice to keep up with him. I think, probably nowadays it’s pretty even between us. We always have good practices.”

As their relationship has built and a rapport has developed, Norrie says Murray has played a helpful role in his career. They train together frequently when both are at home in London