Cameron Norrie can thrive as an underdog against Novak Djokovic and cause a sensation in Friday's Wimbledon semi-final, according to a former coach of the British star.
Ninth seed Norrie has battled through to a showdown with 20-time grand slam winner Djokovic, who had to come from two sets adrift to beat Jannik Sinner at the last-eight stage.
Their clash will be first on Centre Court on Friday, with Norrie bidding to follow in the recent footsteps of Andy Murray, Britain's last men's singles champion at the All England Club.
Djokovic is riding a 26-match unbeaten run at Wimbledon into the match, as the top seed bids to move a step closer to a fourth consecutive title at the tournament.
Yet the lower-ranked man can win, and he could even do it with a set to spare, according to Mexican David Roditi, head coach of the Texas Christian University's tennis team, with whom Norrie honed his talent as a youngster.
As well as studying sociology, Norrie's sports scholarship centred on playing for the Horned Frogs team. He spent three years at the university before leaving in 2017 to embark on a professional tennis career.
Roditi told Stats Perform he expects Norrie to thrive after his battling five-set win over David Goffin last time out.
"Obviously it's not easy to make Djokovic uncomfortable, not easy to beat him on grass," Roditi said. "What I will say is that this is finally the first time that Cameron gets to play as an underdog.
"I'm hoping that he's able to loosen up a little bit, be a little bit more aggressive, be able to go after him a little bit more than he was able to in the quarter-finals.
"I could feel he was not comfortable during that match [against Goffin]. He knew it was a great opportunity. So that underdog mentality has usually worked out well for Cameron. And I'm hoping that that's exactly what happens. And then once you get into the physicality of the game, and I think the longer this match goes, the better chances are for Cameron."
Looking at a prediction for the contest, Roditi said: "Oh, Cameron, it's got to be all Cameron. It's got to be him. So I'm saying Cameron in four sets? Wow. We'll give Djokovic a set. And well, then Cameron can win in four sets."
Roditi said there was "so much pride and so much excitement" being felt in Fort Worth at seeing Norrie grow into an elite performer on the world stage.
The 26-year-old won the Indian Wells Masters last year, the biggest achievement of his career until this fortnight.
Roditi says he always saw world-class potential in Norrie.
"There's no doubt he was head and shoulders above your typical 18-year-old coming in: extremely competitive, always willing to do the extra work physically," Roditi said. "He would go for long runs on his own, and so his endurance level is tremendous. It's great for him and his five-set matches – that showed in the quarter-finals.
"What I will say is that there was nothing he couldn't accomplish, [nothing] that we would ever be shocked or surprised [by]. He's always been able to defeat the odds and do more than anybody would expect of him.
"It's scary to think about what would happen if he wins this match. I think at this point anything's possible."
WTA Finals: Sabalenka digs deep to reach semi-finals
Aryna Sabalenka became the first player to book her place in the WTA Finals semi-finals after her straight-sets win over Jasmine Paolini on Monday.
The Belarusian had to dig deep in the second set but prevailed in 91 minutes, beating the Italian 6-3 7-5 in Riyadh to secure top spot in the Purple Group after two games.
While Sabalenka cruised through the first set, she was almost forced to a decider, but saved two set points in the 10th game of the second to level the score at 5-5 before going on to claim the victory.
In doing so, she became the first player to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the tournament as world number one since Serena Williams in 2013-14.
Having won three of her previous four tournaments and won 22 of her 23 matches in that time, Sabalenka is now just one win away from securing the year-end world number one spot for the first time, a feat she can achieve if she beats Elena Rybakina on Wednesday in the final round-robin match.
And she can go into it with confidence after improving her record against top-five opponents in 2024, with this her fifth such triumph.
"I'm proud of myself. Not only myself, my team," Sabalenka said.
"We were able to overcome a lot of things. To be able to show such great tennis and become World No. 1. It's teamwork. It's not only me. The behind-the-scenes work nobody sees.
"But they do a lot for me. I really appreciate them for everything they do for me. This is motivation for me to keep winning on this court. Those guys deserve to be called the best team ever."
In Monday's other match, Zheng Qinwen kept her hopes of reaching the final four alive with her win over Rybakina.
The Olympic champion was forced to go the distance though, despite getting the first break in the first and second sets, but eventually came out on top 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-1 in just under two-and-a-half hours.
Since the event's inauguration in 1972, Zheng is just the second Chinese player to win a match at the WTA Finals after Li Na.
It was a milestone victory for the 22-year-old as well as she earned her 50th win of 2024, improving her record to 50-17, making her the first Chinese player in the Open Era to hit that mark in a calendar year, though she acknowledged she could have made things easier for herself.
"I was the one to make the first break, and then I let her back in the first," Zheng said.
"Then it happened again in the second. But in the third set, I talked to myself. I broke her first and I stayed focused.
"Finally, in the third set, I start to play my tennis again. So, I'm really happy to win the match."
WTA Finals: Swiatek battles from the brink to make winning start
Iga Swiatek began her bid to regain the world number one ranking by recovering from a set and double break down to beat Barbora Krejcikova in her first match at the WTA Finals.
Swiatek, playing in her first competitive game since her US Open quarter-final exit, emerged a 4-6 7-5 6-2 victor against the Wimbledon champion in Riyadh.
The Pole is the third player in the last 30 years to achieve three or more seasons in a row with over 60 wins, after Martina Hingis (1997-2001) and Caroline Wozniacki (2009-2011).
Only Elina Svitolina (12) has played fewer matches at the WTA Finals than Swiatek (13) to achieve 10 wins at this event since the reintroduction of the Round Robin format in 2003.
But the Pole acknowledged the difficulties she faced against Krejcikova, saying she must improve if she is to retain her WTA Finals crown.
“Even though I played a lot of those [practice] matches,” Swiatek said afterward. “I kind of forgot for a while how it is to feel all those things, a bit different stress and emotions.
"For sure, I needed some time to adapt. The most important thing was that even though it happened, I managed to fight through that. And was patient enough to wait to get better.”
In Sunday's other match, Coco Gauff beat fellow American and doubles partner Jessica Pegula 6-3 6-2 in the second Orange Group match.
Gauff moved to a win-loss record of 51-16 in 2024, including the Olympics and team events, equalling her career-high from 2023 for WTA-level match wins in a calendar year.
She is now only the fifth player to claim 20 or more WTA top 10 wins before turning 21, along with Kim Clijsters (45), Maria Sharapova (39), Ana Ivanovic (26) and Wozniacki (23) since 2000.
"I think maybe I served better than previous times and this is our first time, I think, playing each other on indoor hard, so maybe that had something to do with it," Gauff said.
"I don't know. I think I know I've lost to her a lot, but it doesn't feel like it sometimes.
"Because we do practice a lot, and obviously, when we're playing sometimes I win practice sets, sometimes she does. So it doesn't feel like the head to head is as bad as it was."
Zverev soars past Humbert to claim Paris Masters crown
Alexander Zverev soared to the Paris Masters title following a commanding 6-2 6-2 victory over home favourite Ugo Humbert in the final.
The German took just 75 minutes to seal his seventh career ATP Masters triumph, and second silverware of the season.
Humbert received a raucous reception as he aimed to become the first Frenchman to win this event since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008.
However, the crowd were silenced when Zverev broke in the third and fifth games on his way to taking the opening set.
The Italian Open champion also dominated the second set, dropping just five points on serve as he wrapped up a comfortable victory.
"I knew I had to play like this to win today," Zverev said. "Ugo is an incredible player, but here in Paris, he plays even better than he usually does, and I knew that.
"Once the crowd gets involved, it's going to be difficult. So, I had to take that away early, and I did, so I'm happy about that."
Zverev was also delighted to triumph in Paris, and demonstrate the strides he has made since suffering a horrifying ankle injury during his 2022 French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal.
"It was not 100% guaranteed that I would be back at this level," he added. "So, to win this title here in Paris means the world to me, and I'm sure it means everything to those in my box, because they have done so much for me."
Data Debrief: Zverev surpasses Medvedev and matches Sinner
Runner-up to Daniil Medvedev in 2020, Zverev went one better at the Accor Arena four years later, and will be seeded second at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.
The second German to win this event after Boris Becker, he surpassed Medvedev (six) with his seventh ATP Masters crown the outright most of any player born since the format's inception in 1990.
Zverev also matched world number one Jannik Sinner for the joint-most match wins in ATP Masters events this season with 28.
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