Cameron Norrie reckons a walk with his coach helped inspire the biggest win of his career. One which saw him take down the might of Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz. The famous triumph at the Paris Masters will feel like sweet revenge for Norrie, who limped out of Wimbledon in straight sets to Alcaraz in the summer.
Norrie was no match for Alcaraz that day back in July, going down with a whimper to see one of his ultimate dreams fail to materialise once again. But can Norrie turn his stroll in the French capital into a charge towards one of the big titles, before it is too late?
Can he go on and win the Masters, or even a Grand Slam title, despite having headed into his 30s? Norrie has won almost £10million in career prize money, five ranking titles and once found himself in the world’s top 10.
But the South African-born leftie, who pledged his allegiance to Great Britain as a teenager, has continued to resemble someone who remains unfulfilled. And Wimbledon has been the place Norrie has flattered to deceive the most.
Back in 2022 he charged to the semi-finals, offering home supporters genuine hope there could be life after Sir Andy Murray at SW19.
He strode onto Centre Court and had the cheek to win the first set against Wimbledon king Novak Djokovic. And then it all went wrong, with Djokovic cruising to a 3-1 triumph to book a place in the final.
This year he enjoyed another run to the latter stages, before coming up against a peerless Alcaraz.
Two-time champion Alcaraz needed just one hour and 39 minutes to secure his place in the semis for the third consecutive year. Norrie won just eight games, but there was no shame in losing to the genius of Alcaraz.
The defending champion was on a 23-match unbeaten run in all tournaments at the time.
And for Norrie it was a welcome return to the biggest stage, following a loss of form and fitness problems.
But he still left Wimbledon disappointed.
It had been another major tournament which had seen him threaten to win one of the ultimate prizes, but come up short once more.
Like he did at the French Open earlier this year, where Norrie defeated 11th seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets in the first round. He went on to reach the fourth round, before coming up against Djokovic once again.
And the end result was the same.
But now Norrie finds himself back in the French capital, with renewed confidence and momentum. He’s beaten the world No.1 for the first time.
And this has to give him the belief that it won’t be the last, either.
“This win is so big for me,” said Norrie, who missed the Paris Olympics and US Open last year due to a forearm problem.
“To get the biggest win of my career, my first win over a world number one, and probably the most confident player in the world right now, I am pleased with the way I did it.
“I’m just trying to enjoy my tennis.”
But the biological clock is ticking – and Norrie would enjoy his sport a heck of a lot more if he could somehow go on to become a Grand Slam champion.