Norrie to fly the Kiwi flag in ASB Classic final
Norrie outlasts German warrior Struff by putting on heat to make the Classic final
There will be a local hero in the ASB Classic final.
Cameron Norrie is not officially a Kiwi — he switched allegiance to Great Britain as a 17-year-old — but the Auckland raised left-hander is as close as we are going to get for now.
Norrie outlasted German warrior Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in just under two hours yesterday in a gripping contest in sweltering conditions.
It was a courageous effort from Struff, whose doubles match didn’t finish until 12.30 yesterday morning, after he went on court at 11.15pm, after his marathon singles semifinal victory over Pablo Carreno Busta.
The margins were fine, with a single service break in the third set ensuring Norrie’s passage.
It’s a momentous moment for the 23-year-old, who has reached his first ATP final in his own backyard.
Norrie, clearly feeling the emotion, got the wobbles slightly when serving for the match, with two double faults to start the game, before recovering with the mental strength he has exhibited all week.
“In the third set I was thinking about that a bit,” admitted Norrie. “I could be in my first final and it’s going to be a cool story that I grew up here and I was going through it all and I hadn’t even served out the match. I needed to stay in the moment”. The first set was a tight affair. British-domiciled Kiwi Norrie again showed his ability with smarts and guile, rather than the unrelenting power of most young players.
He takes his backhand earlier than most, using the power generated by his opponents shot and directing it where it can do most damage.
He also displayed an outstanding ability to scramble.
On more than a few occasions in the first set the German thought the point was won, before Norrie would make an athletic retrieval, particularly when Struff tried a drop shot.
The Auckland-raised player also managed what most thought impossible; lobbing the 1.96m Struff, despite being off-balance and on the run.
At 6-5 up, he forced two set points, taking the second when a Struff ground stroke floated wide.
Norrie had the momentum, but the German then immediately grabbed it back.
Before this match, Norrie had held 31 straight service games in this tournament — saving 14 break points — but he seemed to relax at the start of the second set and was broken by world No 58 Struff. Both players struggled more on serve in the second set, as mental and physical tiredness started to show.
Norrie fought hard, saving five consecutive set points at one point, but Struff eventually wrapped up the second set with a routine hold.
The world No 90 Norrie lifted again in the final set, breaking the German immediately.
Struff, who had spent four hours on court on Thursday night, showed his weariness at times, before coming up with a big point.
But he couldn’t retrieve the break, leaving Norrie to claim a place in today’s decider against American Tennys Sandgren.
“We both respect each other a lot, both mentally pretty tough, it will be a battle out there,” said Norrie. “I need to stay patient and keep doing what I am doing well. It will be a good one.”