Overcast skies, brilliant sunshine, torrential rain – all the glories of a traditional English summer have been in evidence at Queen’s Club this week. Small wonder, then, that the British contingent has risen to the occasion – and none more so than Cameron Norrie, who saw off second seed Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 6-3 to reach his third final of the year.
Norrie, who will face Matteo Berrettini in Sunday’s final after the Italian won 6-4, 6-4 against Alex de Minaur of Australia, becomes the first British player to reach the championship round since Andy Murray won the title five years ago. Take Murray out of the equation and you have to go back almost two decades to find the last British player to make the final, to when Tim Henman was beaten by Lleyton Hewitt for the second year in a row in 2002.
The 41st-ranked Norrie, one of the most improved players on the men’s tour, has already reached clay-court finals in Lyon and Estoril this year. The only other final appearance of his career was on a hard court in Auckland, where he grew up, two years ago. He has yet to win a title.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Norrie, who beat the British teenager Jack Draper in the last eight. “I think I played very, very good today, I was extremely clutch on some big points, and I’m so pleased to be through to the final here. I can’t even describe it, it’s nice to get over the line.
“It’s a huge tournament for me and one of my biggest achievements so far. I couldn’t be more pleased with myself.”
Norrie’s afternoon began inauspiciously when he conceded his opening service game with two unforced errors and a pair of double faults. He was denied a break point in the fourth game when a Shapovalov groundstroke skidded off the service line, but a flurry of unforced errors from the Canadian helped Norrie to a love break in the sixth game, and from there the Briton grew in confidence.
A Shapovalov double fault brought up a set point for Norrie at 6-5. He seized the opportunity with a running backhand pass that wrong-footed the world No 14, sending him tumbling to the grass. An almost identical passage of play earned Norrie the decisive break at 4-3 in the second set, Shapovalov picking up a low half-volley only to slip as Norrie raced on to a backhand.
Norrie will be the third British player Berrettini has faced this week. The ninth-ranked Italian beat Andy Murray in the last 16 and Dan Evans in the quarter-finals, and has yet to drop a set. Berrettini pushed Novak Djokovic to a fourth set in the French Open quarter-finals last week, and his best moments have come predominantly on clay. Yet he won the Stuttgart title on grass two years ago and his 140mph serves and howitzer of a forehand pose an obvious threat on the surface. Norrie suggested he would consult Murray and Evans for advice on how to play the 6ft 5in Roman.
“I have watched him a little bit throughout the week,” said Norrie, whose efforts will now propel him to at least 34th in the rankings, enough to earn a seeded position at Wimbledon. “He’s got a huge serve, he’s one of the best players on the tour at the moment, good forehand as well and likes the drop-shot. So maybe I’ll have a chat to Evo and Andy to see if they have any tips for me.”
Berrettini had all the answers against De Minaur, who delved deeply into his box of technical and tactical tricks but could make scant impression against the top seed. A break of serve in the third game proved decisive for Berrettini in the opening set, and though De Minaur fought well to stave off break points in the fifth game of the second set, the Italian broke again in the ninth game before serving out. He becomes the first Queen’s Club debutant to reach the final since Boris Becker in 1985, and the first Italian to make the title round since Laurence Tieleman in 1998.
Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev will contest the first grass-court final of his career at the Halle Open after beating qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. The world No 7 will face Ugo Humbert on Sunday after the Frenchman defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime, conqueror of Roger Federer earlier in the week, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5).
On a busy day in Birmingham, where a Friday washout meant two rounds had to be played in one day, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur overcame Anastasia Potapova 6-4, 6-0 in the quarter-finals before winning her semi-final against Heather Watson 6-3, 6-3. Watson had earlier beaten Donna Vekic, the third seed, to become only the third British player to make the last four at the event.
Jabeur will face Daria Kasatkina in the final after the 35th-ranked Russian saw off qualifier Tereza Martincova 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 in the last eight and CoCo Vandeweghe, the former world No 9, in the semi-finals, 6-2, 6-4.
In Berlin, Liudmila Samsonova continues to make waves after beating Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-2. The 106th-ranked Russian qualifier will face Belinda Bencic in the final after the Swiss fifth seed saw off Alizé Cornet of France 7-5, 6-4. “I’m sure it’s going to be a tough match because she plays very good on this surface, and she’s a good player, said Samsonova, 22, ahead of her first career final.