Cameron Norrie hopeful ‘philosophy will pay off longer term’ after early Queen’s exit ahead of Wimbledon – Eurosport

Cameron Norrie held his head high following a narrow first-round defeat to Milos Raonic at The Queen’s Club.

The 28-year-old British male No. 2 was inches from a spot in the second round, but fell 7-6(9) 6-3 7-6(9) against the Canadian.

The 2021 Queen’s runner-up Norrie pounced when it mattered in the opening set against the former Queen’s and Wimbledon finalist Raonic, taking it on a tie-break.

Raonic bounced back at the start of the second to break Norrie and then hold his serve, powering through to level things and, despite a dogged determination in a gruelling decider from the Brit, Raonic took his third match point in a tie-break to clinch victory.

Norrie said: “It’s tough but I was honestly proud about my level, I gave myself a lot of chances and I thought my concentration was great, I enjoyed it, but he was too good.

“I’m happy with my attitude, the way I played out there, especially against a serve like that and I played really well in the first tie-breaks.

“I’d like to have a few more matches before Wimbledon but it’s going to pay off eventually and I just need to keep going for it.

“At a match point I missed the backhand long by a little bit, I was maybe a bit too aggressive, in the past I maybe would’ve guided it and maybe won the match, but hopefully in the longer term those shots can pay off in even bigger matches.

“Hopefully my philosophy and skill will pay off longer term and I can play a bit more on instinct when it does come further in an even bigger tournament.”

The wildcard pairing will meet Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round this week, as Norrie looks to find his grass-court form ahead of Wimbledon.

He added: “I’m excited [to play with Draper], hopefully he’s up for it and I can pick his brains on a few things and what’s working for him on the grass, he’s playing unreal so I’m excited to play on court with him again.

“It gives us a chance to go really deep and I’m excited to watch him in singles as well.”

“Taking losses like this, you need to trust yourself even more, you’ve just got to not flinch, keep going and keep working.

“I’m still playing the best tournaments in the world in front of a home crowd. It’s hard to take the positives but it’s good fun.”