From South Africa to England to TCU, Cam Norrie made it to Wimbledon

You seldom see a tennis star mention their alma mater in a grand slam tennis tournament.

Because most of them didn’t attend college but for a year, or at all.

Long before Cam Norrie reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, he was the most sought after recruit in the history of TCU tennis.

He was the rarest of breeds; an exceptional teen tennis player who wanted to go to college rather than immediately turn pro.

Norrie was born in Johannesburg, was raised both in New Zealand and England, and decided he wanted to “attend university” before trying to play professionally.

On Friday he played in the semifinals at Wimbledon playing against Novak Djokovic.

Norrie won the first set, and had all of his native Brits firmly behind him.

Then The Terminator awoke, and that was that. Djo’ lost the first set 2-6, and then went on to win 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to yet another grand slam final.

Norrie reaching the semis, and losing to Novak Djokovic, is a major achievement.

This is the rare instance of a NCAA tennis player going deep in a grand slam tennis event; Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe were both college players who won majors.

As a senior in high school, Norrie could have played at any top tennis program in the nation. He signed with TCU in 2014, and became one of the top men’s tennis players in the history of its program.

He attended TCU for three years and in his time there he did just about everything a tennis player possibly could.

He was the Big 12 player of the year, and an All-American. He turned pro after his junior year.

Since leaving TCU he has steadily moved up the world rankings; he won the Indian Wells tournament last year.

He returns to TCU often to workout and visit with coach David Roditi, and a list of friends he made in the area.

There were a few of Norries’ friends in attendance on Friday wearing TCU gear.

Even ESPN commentator Chris Fowler gave TCU and Fort Worth a shoutout during the match.

Norrie did everything he could at Wimbledon, and he one day he might just win it, but losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals is a real achievement.