Even so, Norrie is enjoying his time on the court as he continues to play the best tennis of his life. The extra stakes are something he enjoys having as well as he explained after his convincing win over Opelka.
He said:
“Reilly’s a great player and he’s really tough to play against. He can play really aggressive at times and he can lock it down and
make a lot of balls and then obviously with his serve it’s difficult,
but I managed to put some returns in at the right times and chip on my
forehand side and I was just happy to get through it at the end.”
Norrie also admitted to watching a lot of other matches finding the ATP Race something fascinating to observe.He himself is enjoying the chance to play something extra than just the result at the event:
“I’m watching all the matches and I think everyone else is as well. It’s cool to have something extra to play for.”
Next up for him is Taylor Fritz, another player who is in great form. On that matchup, Norrie said:
“I’ve played him a lot in my career, I think the most of anyone, so
we both know each other’s games very well. He’s
extremely confident, had a final last week (in St Petersburg) and has
beaten two good opponents this week. When he’s confident he’s very, very dangerous so I’m going to have
to watch out for him. He too has a good serve so I’m going to have to
return well and play the big points very well.”