Cameron Norrie says rare show of emotion was ‘well deserved’ after gruelling five-set Nicolas Jarry win sends Brit into Wimbledon quarter-finals

Norrie provided yet another show of resilience as he did not drop serve in the match, but upon clinching a two-set lead, Jarry battled back in remarkable style to level it, prevailing in two tie-breaks and forcing a decider – with the Brit eventually sealing his passage to the final eight with a 6-3 7-6(4) 6-7(7) 6-7(5) 6-3 victory.

When match point went his way, the Brit collapsed onto the court in celebration for what he thought was the first time in his career.

He has battled back from injury and a drop down the rankings to return to the last eight at SW19 for the first time since his semi-final run three years ago.

“I’ve never fallen to the floor in a match,” Norrie said in a press conference. “I think it was just how tough it was to get there.

“It was a nice moment for myself. It feels a little bit better and well more deserved coming back from the injury and kind of coming back and trying to push back into the top of the game.

“All the hard work and everything, it’s paid off. I’ve been a dedicated professional and good team around me. These moments, it’s the icing on the cake. It was a well-deserved fall to the floor.”

Playing under the closed roof of Court One with a thunderstorm overhead, neither could provide the lightning in the early stages to seize their opponent’s serve. Instead, it was a battle of holding nerve, and they traded some quickfire holds as the first seven games went by in rapid fashion.

But when the break chance did present itself, Norrie clinched it in absolutely resounding fashion.

After soaking up Jarry’s big serve for much of the opening exchanges, Norrie found his chance to attack. At 4-3, he clinched the first break of the match, to love, watching unforced errors tumble from his opponent and setting up the chance to serve for the set.

That he did, and the battle of attrition continued well into the second set. Norrie remained rock-solid on serve, conceding just a single break point – but this time could not find his way past Jarry – who in the second set alone hit 12 aces as he looked to dispatch his service games in swift fashion.

The pair served all the way to a tie-break, and Jarry threatened with a chance to pull away after claiming the first mini-break. But Norrie, resilient as he had been throughout the encounter thus far, quelled his opponent’s serve immediately to gain the double mini-break, and serve all the way to a two-set lead.

It was a tense exchange, and it clearly took its toll on Jarry. At the interval, he remonstrated furiously with the umpire over Norrie’s ball-bouncing before second serves on some of the set’s more high-stake points, which he felt egregious. He was reminded that the Brit was not breaking any rules unless he was “intentionally” disrupting play.

“I just have to suck it (up) because he does it always,” Jarry said, as he took back to the court in hope of forging an unlikely comeback.

Norrie was asked about the comments after the match and insisted he was not knowingly disrupting his opponent.

“For me, I wanted to take my time on the second serve and making sure that I’m getting myself ready to set,” Norrie said.

“I actually didn’t even notice he was upset with that. I want to settle before I hit my second serve. I don’t want to rush into it and hit a quick double.

“That was kind of what I’m doing with my second serve. I want to play the point. Typically I had to play a long point. If I’m hitting a second serve, I have to be ready for sure”.

The Chilean world No. 143 could not lay any sort of pressure on the Norrie serve in the third with break points still not presenting themselves – and they battled all the way to another tie-break.

Jarry, at times in the tense tie-break, took his time to serve – perhaps seeking an advantage he felt Norrie gained by doing so in the second set. He remarkably romped back to save a match point with two mini-breaks and cut into his deficit by crunching Norrie’s serve and extending the match.

Unsurprisingly, the fourth set continued in a similar vein – both players giving everything and conceding little. Norrie’s serve continued to reign supreme with Jarry unable to find an answer, despite nearly breaking the deadlock with three break points in the sixth game.

They, again, chugged along to another tie-break, and again, it was Jarry who prevailed in the battle of nerve. Despite Norrie pulling ahead with consecutive mini-breaks, his unseeded counterpart thumped back his returns to take an advantage and dispatch his first set point – forcing a decider.

As the match neared four hours, a break of serve felt as though it would be match-clinching. And Court One erupted when Norrie broke his opponent for a 2-0 lead. As a result, Jarry had to find something he could not do for the entirety of the afternoon’s play – take Norrie’s serve.

He could not do so, despite forcing three break points in the subsequent game, as his creditable battle came to an end in one of the most gruelling matches of the Championships so far – Norrie flopping to the floor on his match-winning hold to love, before a brief battle of words with his opponent courtside upon the handshake.