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British tennis star Cameron Norrie thinks he deserves to be shown more respect at the Indian Wells Masters as the defending champion. Norrie, who is enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 12 in the world, lifted his maiden Masters title after beating Nikoloz Basilashvili in last year's Indian Wells final.
On Saturday, Norrie kicked off his title defence on Stadium 5. Norrie didn't have much problems in his opener against Pedro Martinez as he defeated the Spaniard 6-3 6-3. “I think I wasn’t shown any love, it didn’t show much respect.
Any other tournament, that’s fine, but I feel like defending champ should deserve a little bit more than Stadium 5," Norrie told the BBC 5 Live Sport.
Norrie aims to defend his Indian Wells title
Norrie's rise in 2021 was one of the best stories on the Tour.
Norrie is now a Masters champion and on the verge of entering the top-10. However, his coach Facundo Lugones insists nothing has much changed in the life of Norrie as the Briton loves to stay low-key. “He keeps a low profile,” Lugones told the ATP Tour.
“He’s very relaxed, warm, a good friend, respectful, and he looks after his team”. Last year, Norrie admitted he's gunning for the No. 1 spot. Reaching the top-10 is a realistic option for Norrie but he will have to take his game to another level in order to become a Grand Slam champion or reach the No.
1 ranking. “Even if he gets into the Top 10, he will still be just as down to earth,” said Lugones. “He will continue to have the same friends and treat everyone the same. I think that even if he were No. 1 in the world, he would still be the same humble person”. Norrie is set to battle Basilashvili for a place in the Indian Wells round-of-16.