Cameron Norrie will be hoping for his seventh win when he faces Alexander Zverev in the third round of the Australian Open.
Norie has become a trusted face in British tennis, but has failed to make the last 32 at a Grand Slam just three times in his past 15 appearances.
He became the last British singles player to bounce back after scoring a four-set win against American Emilio Nava on Wednesday.
His next opponent will be a familiar foe in third-seeded Zverev, who has won all six of his tour-level matches, but Norrie is feeling bullish going into the match.
“I think I can certainly trouble him,” the No. 26 seed said. “I think you have to have a really complete game and play well for four hours to have a chance with him.
“The first three weeks of the year, I’ve really started to feel confident in how I’m managing my service games, how I’m getting a lot of returns on the court. I feel like I’m hitting every point.”
“I know it’s my trademark to be on every point. I think I’ve done a really good job of that. My tennis was there. The feel of the ball was great. I think I’m in a good place mentally.”
Norie almost fell outside the top 100 last spring due to injury issues and a decline in form, but he has bounced back and is now on track to return to the top 20.
He was helped by the loud cheers he received from the enthusiastic crowd against Nava, and while there won’t be the feeling of a crowd hanging over the cavernous John Cain Arena court, there should still be a good atmosphere in the evening session.
Norie lost to Zverev at Wimbledon in 2024
And to see how he can torment Zverev, who reached his third Grand Slam final here last year, Norie only needs to look back two years to their last-16 encounter at Melbourne Park.
There, Norrie pushed the German to a fifth-set tiebreak before losing, one of his five losses to top-10 players in the last seven tournaments.
“I’ll definitely see that,” Nolley said. “That day I used the drop shot unrealistically. I played very freely, enjoyed the game very much and was out in front. I annoyed him a lot and mixed it up a lot. Certainly, I think I need to sprinkle some of that in.”
The 30-year-old knows the changes he would make if he were in the same situation, saying: “I think I probably overused (the drop shot) in the fifth set tiebreak and missed a few shots that I wouldn’t normally hit.
“I think he remembers that match. It was very tough, but I’m excited to have a crack at him again. If it’s a tiebreaker again in the fifth set, I’m going to be more aggressive and remember that I’m going to set it up, maybe not bail out with a drop shot.”
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