The coach who is credited with helping change Cameron Norrie’s life after an accident has said he couldn’t be more proud of the professional tennis player he is now.
Norrie, who will play Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s singles semifinals on Friday, said earlier that a turning point in his career was when he suffered a moped accident during his sophomore year of college. it became an “awakening.” call “needed to take his tennis career seriously.
David Roditi, who coached the Briton when Norrie was a student at Texas Christian University, said the crash was “the tip of the iceberg” and that he was later part of a meeting with Norrie.
“He didn’t say much,” Roditi recalled. “It wasn’t a controversial meeting. It was just to let him know we felt he was at a crossroads and he had to choose.”
He said that initially Norrie wanted to be a “normal” teenager who goes to college and that “he thought he was not ready to be a dedicated tennis player.”
“He was just a typical young man between 19 and 20. At that age you want to have fun, you want to be social, have a couple of beers and chase girls,” Roditi said.
However, after the accident, Norrie decided to pursue sports. “After [the crash] the coaches put me in a lot of gear and then I was definitely more professional. I grew up long after that. From then on I said, “Okay, I want to play tennis and commit to it and do it,” Norrie said.
Roditi said there was no doubt that Norrie was “one of the best, if not the best, tennis prospects in the college system.”
“We are very proud to be recognized as one of the hardest working players,” Roditi added. “We couldn’t be more proud of the professional tennis player he is now. What a great role model he has become. “
Norrie’s girlfriend Louise Jacobi has said watching him win his quarter-final match against Belgian David Goffin was “surreal”.
Jacobi said her boyfriend’s dream was to be in the top 10. “Then I didn’t know what was going to happen, and just seeing how his work went has been crazy,” he said.