Cameron, the honorary scot battling for Britain
Country gets behind our last man standing at Wimbledon
WITH the painful early exit of Sir Andy Murray from the competition, Cameron Norrie is now single-handedly carrying the hopes of the nation.
As the last Brit standing at Wimbledon, the 26-year-old will face Belgian David Goffin in his first ever quarter finals appearance at SW19 on Court One today.
And while he is proudly representing Britain, Cameron considers himself to be Scottish – thanks to the influence of his Glasgow-born father.
The tennis star celebrated the biggest win of his career on Sunday, beating American Tommy Paul in straight sets to become the first British man to reach the quarterfinals since fellow proud Scot Sir Andy in 2017.
Born to British parents in Johannesburg, he first started playing tennis as a child with a repurposed squash racket on an ‘imaginary court’ next to his South Afrcian home.
His mother Helen, 59, a biochemist from Cardiff, said: ‘When Cameron was four or five, we cut down one of my old squash rackets so it looked a bit like a lollipop.
‘We used a big bouncy plastic ball and drew a line in the concrete of the driveway for the net. He would keep score and he just wanted to play all the time.’
As well as his mother’s influence, his father David – also a biochemist and keen tennis player – ensured young Cameron was aware of his Scottish roots. David previously
‘Cam was cheering on Scotland’
touched on this, saying: ‘I’ve always told both of my kids about their background and heritage.
‘They were born in Africa but I don’t think you change who you are, where you come from, even if you travel all over.’
Cameron himself once said: ‘I’m pretty Scottish, I think. My dad was born in Glasgow, my mum in Cardiff. I’ve been to Scotland a few times but I don’t like the weather.
‘I went to Aberdeen; that’s where my dad’s side of the family live. I’ve got cousins and uncles in Kintore (Aberdeenshire).’
The fact that Cameron wasn’t born or raised here and has a distinct New Zealand accent hasn’t been lost on people.
However, like most Scots, CEO of Tennis Scotland Blane Dodds is keen to lay claim to him.
He said: ‘I have lots of banter about this with my English friends at the Lawn and Tennis Association. But we can confirm Cam was cheering on Scotland against England at football and rugby. And it was confirmed in the Battle of Brits tennis match that Jamie Murray has put together for later this year that Cam Norrie will be Scottish number one in that team. So he’s very much a Scot.’
When Cameron was still a child, the family left South Africa after a neighbour was carjacked. They moved to Auckland, New Zealand, where his parents still live today.
He soon reached the top ten junior ranking worldwide, before switching allegiance from Tennis New Zealand to his parents’ homeland of Britain, where he had the financial support of the LTA.
He later won a full scholarship to study sociology at Texas Christian College in Fort Worth. He turned professional in 2017 and made his debut for Britain’s Davis Cup team the following year.
In January 2019, he reached his first ATP final. And today he will battle it out with the Belgian star, who is ranked 58th in the world, with his parents and girlfriend – along with the entire country – firmly behind him.