Cam Norrie is one of the sport’s toughest competitors and prides himself on that title.
So, to see him retire injured from his Roland Garros first-round match yesterday was upsetting. Whatever was ailing him must have been serious.
It takes a lot to force the British number one to halt a match, as a player who is normally keen to turn matches into an all-out brawl.
What perfectly exemplifies this trait, and his never-say-die attitude, is the unwanted personal history he made by retiring yesterday afternoon.
Cam Norrie makes unwanted personal history at Roland Garros
In calling time on the match early in the second set, Cam Norrie granted Adolfo Daniel Vallejo safe passage into the second round.
However, it actually marked a career-first for the 28-year-old. This was the first time he had ever retired from a Grand Slam match.
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Considering he had played 87 matches at this level before yesterday, it’s certainly an impressive statistic, and one he will surely be disappointed to see fall.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Annabel Croft praised the decision, despite how difficult it must have been: “I think Norrie has done the right thing if he is in pain. It’s far better not to exacerbate the injury problem and get back to the UK, have rest and treatment on it, and then start building up to Queen’s Club and Wimbledon.”
Cam Norrie reacts after retiring injured from his Roland Garros match
Given that Norrie revealed that he hadn’t practised before his first-round match due to a rib injury, there were fears that this outcome was a possibility.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, he has now expanded on this issue and exactly what he was feeling on court.
Norrie admitted: “Yeah, it’s a tough feeling right now, you know, not being able to prepare properly, and, it just started to to bother me on every shot, so it was a bit more: how can I just play tennis and not think about it every shot? And that was kind of the challenge today, and I was not able to do that.
“And I never retired in my life before, so it was very strange for me. But, uh, I guess part of being an athlete”
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Cameron Norrie’s career titles
- Los Cabos Open
- Indian Wells Open
- Delray Beach Open
- Lyon Open
- Rio Open
There were worries before the match, and conversations about whether to pull out. Norrie added: “Yeah, we didn’t practice until two days before. I played very light, just hand feeding and so light two days ago and then I played some points off the ground a little bit yesterday, and it felt okay, but then decided to play.
“I thought it would be ready, but I was obviously too soon. And yeah, I think just a little bit mentally tired, you know, not having the ability to mentally to put the pain away, the pain aside, and just play point for point with the guy.
“I know I’m playing so well, so that was even more frustrating and even at 20%, today, I was able to compete with the guy.
“So I thought I was feeling better this morning when I woke up, and when the match started, it was just a lot of distraction on every shot, so it was tough.”
