Cam Norrie has been fending off freebies from fans and businesses in his London neighborhood after reaching this month’s Wimbledon semi-finals.
Gratis coffee and no-charge dry cleaning have been on offer around the neighborhood to the South African-born Brit:
But Norrie has politely knocked them all back.
“In several establishments they have insisted on inviting me to coffee, and even when I went to the dry cleaner,” he said.
“They did not want to charge me as thanks for their enjoyment during the tournament.
“The people are very kind, it is incredible to receive so much love and recognition, but that will not change me.
“I still have a lot of ambition and I’ve been working very hard in recent weeks to be a better tennis player.”
He added: “I’ve completely lost my anonymity, now people recognise me on the street and congratulate me.
The ATP No. 13 – he would have been inside the Top 10 had points been awarded for Wimbledon – regrets the Russian player ban which led to the no-rewards scenario during the major.
“It’s quite frustrating, but I can’t do anything,” he said. “I like to think that it doesn’t change me too much.
:”I’m still ranked well and I’m seeded in most events, but obviously it’s embarrassing not to have received points.
“There are other players who, in case points had been distributed, they would have given an enormous qualitative jump.”
Norrie has just completed a training block in Nice with No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, among the Russian players banned by Wimbledon from competing.
The topic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the entire distasteful Wimbledon scenario was off the table.
“The truth is that I didn’t want to tell him anything about Wimbledon, I know it’s a sensitive issue for him because of what happened,” Norrie said..
“He did congratulate me and told me that he had seen the (semi-final) match against Novak.
“The truth is that Daniil is a great guy and, I must say, that he is my favorite player at the moment.”
Main photo:- Cameron Norrie lost in Wimbledon 2022 semi final – by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
