Norrie ‘enjoying tennis more than ever' as he stuns Frances Tiafoe
The British number three caught the attention of the tennis world when making the semi-final of the Championships in 2022, reaching a career-high ranking of eighth in the world during the same season.
He is now ranked 61 and would have been regarded an underdog in his second-round tie with the American Tiafoe, but the 29-year-old relished that status and approached the match with a palpable sense of self-belief.
Despite losing the first set, Norrie did not lose his cool and applied steady pressure on his opponent to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-5 and reach the third round for the fourth time in five years.
In doing so he booked a clash with Italy's world number 73 Mattia Bellucci – who shocked Queen's finalist Jiri Lehecka in the second round – and looks set to enter that tie full of confidence.
'I played an unreal match,' he said. 'I think it was a very good performance from me.
'Mentally, as well – I was very stable throughout the whole match. I think if you spoke to Frances he would probably say the same.
'It was a very high-level match. He was playing so well but I never really flinched. I just kept doing what I was doing and made the match on my terms. I can take a lot of confidence from that.'
Reflecting on the differences in how he approaches his matches now he has left the top rungs of the ladder in terms of ranking, Norrie added: 'When I was in the top 10 and the top 20, everything was very automatic. I was not thinking. Just very professional. On to the next thing, on to the next thing.
'I think it's a good thing to go through, being injured, not winning, then having resilience to back yourself.
'I'm enjoying my tennis more than ever. It was really nice coming up to get into the top 10 but it's just tough, really tough, to stay there.
'On the flip side side of that, I was coming into the match today against Frances, being the underdog, playing for free.
'It was a lot easier than in the past when I previously played Frances. I was the highest seeded player, the pressure was on me.
'It's nice to hunt the other guys and be on the flip side. It's been good fun trying to get back to where I was. There's still a long way to go.'
British wild card Billy Harris was unable to build on his maiden grand slam win as he was beaten in straight sets by world number 37 Nuno Borges.
Harris had knocked out veteran Dusan Lajovic in round one but found Portugal's Borges too strong.
The 30-year-old from Nottingham had two set points in a third set tie-break but was unable to convert either in a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7) defeat on Court Two.
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