Cameron Norrie will head to Roland Garros well aware that he holds Great Britain’s best chance of a deep run in Paris.
After all, he is the only seeded player in both the men’s and women’s draw, and returns to the French capital having impressed on his way to the fourth round last year.
However, there might be cause for concern from within his camp just days before his campaign gets underway, with injury rumours emerging.
For a man who prides himself on his superior physicality, and who seemingly never gets injured, this is a worry.
It unsurprisingly therefore dominated Cam Norrie’s pre-French Open press conference.
Cam Norrie makes worrying injury revelation on eve of Roland Garros
Discussing his early exit in Geneva earlier this week, the 30-year-old admitted: “Yeah, I didn’t feel too great.
“I was not feeling my best in the match, and I had a small problem with my rib, and I probably shouldn’t have finished the match, but I did.
Give us your one wild prediction for Roland Garros!
“Yeah, that was a tough moment for me because I prepared so well, I had such a good practice week after Rome, and I was really hungry to come back and have a good run in Geneva like I did last year and get some matches before Roland Garros, but I was able to complete the match, so that was difficult for me.”
Then, asked if that injury had subsided at all, Norrie revealed: “Yeah, I haven’t been able to hit yet since I’ve arrived here, so I’ve just been enjoying Paris and resting. But I think I needed the rest, so maybe it’s a good thing.
“I really know I’m feeling the ball well. I’ve practised so so much. I’ve been playing really well, with not so much to show for it, you know, in the results. But luckily, I’m scheduled on Tuesday, so I have some time to recover.
“But I’ve just been resting these days, playing some cards with my team and just enjoying Paris and kind of taking a step back from the typical day-in, day-out full training and doing everything I can, so it’s been maybe exactly what I needed, so, yeah.”
Norrie will play this event as the British number one; his first in that role for some time.
Cam Norrie now faces the most important stretch of his season
Around this time last year, we got to see Norrie reach another level of quality and consistency, the likes of which we have arguably not seen before in his career.
As such, he stormed into the Roland Garros fourth round, and followed that up with a run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
These triumphs have helped propel him to the current world ranking of 22nd, having only been beaten in those Grand Slams by Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Where does Cameron Norrie rank among the best British players in tennis history?
Cameron Norrie’s career titles
- Los Cabos Open
- Indian Wells Open
- Delray Beach Open
- Lyon Open
- Rio Open
However, with that success comes added pressure the following year, as he now must defend the points gained with those runs.
For Norrie to have picked up an injury right before this crucial stretch of tournaments is worrying, and hopefully it is not too serious so we can see the very best of the British number one first in Paris and later back in England.
