Cameron Norrie all out to clinch ATP Tour Finals place
The Grand Slam events are over for another year. However, there’s still a lot to play for in the final months of 2022. Qualifying for the ATP Tour Finals is a major target for many players including Cameron Norrie.
Britain’s top player has had a good year overall but his slow start to 2022 may come back to haunt him. Norrie is currently ranked eighth in the world but he’s only 11th in the ATP Tour Race. He’s over 300 points behind the final qualifying place and needs some good performances in the coming weeks.
That all begins with the Rakuten Open in Japan that begins on October 3. It’s an ATP 500 event staged on an outdoor hard court. Lots of points to earn and Norrie is expected to be the second seed behind Casper Ruud.
Currently going well in the South Korea Open, Norrie is making an all-out effort to reach the ATP Tour Finals. He did play in the end-of-season tournament last year after coming in as a reserve. Even if he can’t finish eighth in the ATP Race, ninth place will again see him be the reserve player.
There are still plenty of events to play, including the Paris Masters but Norrie could easily already be close to qualification. January was not a good month for the British number one. He lost all three of his matches in the ATP Cup and then was knocked out of the Australian Open in the first round.
That left him playing catch-up in the ATP Race but his form has picked up well. He’s won titles in Delray Beach and Lyon, lost in two finals, made two semi-finals (one at Wimbledon) and had four quarter final defeats. There have been too many last 32 and 16 losses though. Thus, he is not a clear favourite of the bookmakers. the Britishgambler.co.uk reported.
The Rakuten Open is scheduled to have five of the top 20 ranked players completed. Aside from Casper Ruud (who has the world number one ranking as his target), also due to take part are Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Nick Kyrgios are due in Tokyo.
Alexander Zverev is still out injured and that could be good news for Norrie. Zverev is currently holding the final Tour Finals qualification spot. Norrie will again be able to close the gap. If the German remains unable to play, then Norrie might just be able to make it to the Finals.
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