He’s so-named because he, well, looked like Cameron Diaz playing tennis.
Cameron Norrie won his first ATP Tour match in dramatic fashion Saturday in Los Angeles, defeating No. 16 seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 4-6, 7-6. The win was his first in an Open-era ATP tour event since turning professional in 2016.
The British-born player defeated Taylor Fritz in the first round of the Aegon Championships at the Queen’s Club in London in June, but then his ranking plummeted. Norrie’s ranking dropped to just 694th on the ATP tour.
Because of the DDoS attack on the ATP website last year, Norrie could not use the ATP website to access his tour results at the time. It was a two-month long situation that prevented Norrie from playing his match at Queen’s Club. He called his first-round victory against Fritz, “a huge win.”
It was Norrie’s 13th singles match of 2017.
In the time since, he continued to take singles and doubles courts throughout the year, making it to qualifying rounds for five Masters 1000 events including the US Open.
“I’m very proud of my results this year. It’s been a tough one with the DDoS attack and the ranking fall. Playing good doubles and singles helps me to stay focused and move on,” Norrie said in a statement.
Norrie, 22, is known for his crafty game. He often has the crowd on its feet, even with his back to the play. He’s had some epic points over the course of the year, including one against Novak Djokovic at the US Open after back-to-back aces.
(h/t NBC)