With Federer, Rafa retired & Djokovic close, a spot at the top awaits this TCU alum
When Michael Jordan retired, the first time, the better players in the NBA realized their chances of winning a championship increased by at least a third.
A similar event occurred in professional tennis when both Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal started to age, and, ultimately, retired from a sport they alternately owned. Soon to follow them both is the 37-year-old Novak Djokovic.
Between their age, and or exits, a spot exits at the very top for a man who when he turned pro wasn’t exactly sure how this was all going to go.
“I actually didn’t think I would do this well,” TCU alum Cam Norrie said Sunday at the Dallas Open in Frisco. The event runs this week through Sunday.
Norrie finished his college career at TCU in 2017, and has since become a “name” on the men’s tour. At 29, he figures he is around the halfway point of his pro career. He has achieved so much since he left TCU, but on the “To Do” list remains the elusive Grand Slam title.
”I was just trying to make the top 100 to begin with and go from there. I was taking one thing at a time, and I went quite quickly through different levels, obviously,” Norrie said. “It would be nice to get back to where I was. And the expectations change very quickly, so I would definitely take that.”
Norrie is currently ranked 63rd in the world. He has ranked as high as eighth.
“You know, if you say, like you said, ‘If you would be top 10, you would have won five tournaments, a Masters 1000,’ I would have definitely signed for it,” he said. “Now sitting here and kind of being in the last couple of years, you want more.”
Norrie is scheduled to play on Tuesday against Alex Michelsen of the U.S.
Sitting in an empty interview room at The Ford Center in Frisco on Sunday morning, Norrie chatted about his career, coming back to Fort Worth, and trying to explain to friends what is a Horned Frog.
Star-Telegram: Do you ever get back to Fort Worth?
Cam Norrie: I was there last week. I was with the (players on TCU’s team). I stayed with (the family he lived with when he was a student at TCU). It’s nice to feel all of that again. It’s a simple life there.
I go a few times, when I can. I went before U.S. Open last year, and the year before that, but (last week) was kind of the first time properly I had a good chunk of time to really prepare and practice and come (to Frisco). It was nice. I was able to have the best of everything, practicing with the boys and not having to go to the classes.
I was not used to doing that. It was good to be back with (assistant coach) Devin Bowen and (head coach) Dave Roditi, and feeling good.
S-T: Where do you live now?
CM: Monaco. It’s more about being in a good place to practice. And then obviously with the no tax. The weather is amazing. I love being by the beach, growing up in New Zealand. So it’s a special place for me now. And I really feel good there.
S-T: You left TCU before graduating; you don’t need to, obviously, but is that something you want to do?
CM: I would like to do it one day, just to check the box. At the moment it’s not that important. Maybe one day, it will be nice.
S-T: When you are with TCU players, did you feel old?
CM: I don’t feel like I’m that old but I just see them and they’re very young. I feel not old at all but still feeling very young, very fit, in good good shape but they’re like, ‘Yeah, I graduated in 2023.’ And I’m like, ‘Wow, I left in 2017.’ So it seems different.
S-T: You’re associated with lots of different places where you’ve lived; New Zealand, London, Fort Worth. Have you thought about where you want to set up shop post playing?
CM: I’m not sure yet. It will depend on what I want to do after tennis. I’ve got some good options. It will be nice to eventually go back (to TCU) and finish my degree, and maybe help the team for one year.
I just don’t know where I’m going to be in my life at that point, but I really liked it being back now practicing with the boys (at TCU) and seeing the development.
S-T: Because tennis is your job, do you enjoy it, or has it become a job with a lot of pressure?
CM: I’m enjoying all of it. I love the practice and I love the lifestyle of it. So I’m pretty lucky. And then the winning is just kind of the icing on the cake.
I think you don’t get to enjoy all of the moments that well because you’re competing very soon after. There’s always another tournament, and there’s always something else coming quickly. So it’s not like you finish, you win the Super Bowl or something, and then you’ve got the whole offseason to rest and enjoy and you can actually properly embrace with your team.
S-T: You’re in a time where you’re right in between the era of some dominant players. Rafa, Roger, and now Novak is getting a little bit older. Do players at your age and stage see that there’s an opportunity to occupy that top spot that had been previously just sort of owned by those guys?
CM: I think there’s a lot of that. What’s key now is both (top young players) Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are they’re doing it for the first couple times; it’s still very new so they’re not used to playing in the latter stages of Grand Slams.
The depth of the tour now is unbelievable, so you have to beat so many good players along the way. But definitely there’s chances. That’s what I’m playing for, to give myself the best chance for the Grand Slams because I think that’s the most important event to try to do well at.
S-T: You have a lot of good tennis left, what else do you want to do?
CM: I’m still feeling good physically and I’ve matured, but I want to just go back to the old mindset of take it day by day and no expectations. Go and play point for point, make it incredibly tough for the other guy; make it physical point for point.
And I think at the end of the career, I want to make sure that I left no stone unturned, to make sure I got everything out of my potential. I’m not I’m not slowing down anytime soon.
As I’m getting a little bit older I see how lucky I am to play this sport for a living; traveling and having this life because it’s addicting. It’s fun, and you know exactly where you stand in terms of the rankings and how you’re doing and how others are doing so I’m enjoying it still, and I think I want to keep enjoying it.
S-T: Has anybody ever asked you, ‘Cam, what the hell is a Horned Frog?’
CM: There’s lots of people. ‘What’s the mascot?’ And I say, ‘A Horned Frog.’ And they’re like, ‘What? What is that?’ Or they’re asking, like, ‘What’s this one? (He flashed the ‘Go Frogs’ hand sign). What does that mean?’ I get that all the time.
This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 4:59 PM.
