Wimbledon: Norrie faces alien challenge as he reaches first Grand Slam semi-final

Over the last two decades, British fans have become accustomed to being taken on five-set rollercoaster rides on tennis' most famous stage by four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman and then twice champion Andy Murray. The South African-born Norrie joined that select group on Tuesday when he fought back to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final with a 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Goffin. "Pretty crazy to be sitting here and in the semis. Crazy atmosphere, as well. Definitely enjoyed it. The crowd definitely got me through it. Pretty fortunate to get through that one," admitted Norrie after becoming only the fourth British man in the Open Era to reach the last four at the grasscourt major. "At end of the fourth, start of the fifth, I was just locked in.... just a crazy day and crazy match to get through."

For 3-1/2 hours, the so called Henman Hill was heaving with thousands of fans who cheered on every point won by the ninth seed as they followed the action on the large screen located outside Court One. While the British number one admitted that re-naming the hill Norrie Knoll is unlikely to catch on as "it doesn't roll off the tongue as well as Henman Hill", he knows he will have to rely on the partisan support when he tries to stop six-time champion Novak Djokovic from reaching a 32nd Grand Slam final. "It's obviously one of the toughest tasks in tennis. I'd say grass is his favourite surface and his record is unbelievable here at Wimbledon. It's going to be tough," Norrie said. "I'm going to have to improve a lot of things from today. A couple of times, lost a little bit of focus and managed to get it back. With Novak, there is no room for that." Before this week, Norrie had not exactly been a household name