Tennis Mar 18, 2026

New British No 1 Cameron Norrie relishing rivalry with Jack Draper: 'We are going to push one another'

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
New British No 1 Cameron Norrie relishing rivalry with Jack Draper: 'We are going to push one another'

Cam Norrie replaced Jack Draper as the British No 1 and has no intention of slowing down as he heads to the Miami Open but knows he may be in for some battles against his fellow Brit in the future.

Norrie took the top spot for the first time since 2024 as he moved up five places in the ATP rankings following his run to the quarter-finals at Indian Wells.

He was then eventually beaten in that match by Carlos Alcaraz but left on a high that his tennis was in a strong place.

Indian Wells also marked a strong couple of weeks for Draper too who continues his return from an arm injury.

He was also beaten at the quarter-final stage in a controversial match with Daniil Medvedev.

Despite those losses, this marks the first occasion in a while that the pair have been playing strong tennis at the same time and for Norrie, it is an intriguing moment in which they can "push one another" as they look to reach new heights.

"(It was not on my radar) to be honest, but it is something obviously very special. It is the cherry on the cake to be British No 1 but there is obviously still 23 guys ranked ahead of me," Draper told Your Site.

"So there are a lot of things, a lot of progressions to be made but it is something cool and obviously shows that we are heading in the right direction.

"It is nice to have Jack (Draper) back. I think it's super impressive to see him and he is only a couple of tournaments back now.

"For me with my injury, it took me a while to get match fit and everything but for him, he is back playing at such a high level and that was super impressive.

"I know how much and how badly he wants to be back playing these tournaments so it is nice to have him back, especially for the Davis Cup.

"I think it is going to be cool, we are ranked very similarly at the moment. We are going to push one another for sure and hopefully we can have some more matches."

His run at Indian Wells is only making Norrie more confident for the Miami Open, a tournament at which he feels the conditions suit him well.

With that in mind, he wants to pair his strong form and a stage which he enjoys to make sure another run is on the horizon.

"It was nice to play that match against Alcaraz. I have been doing all the right things the last few weeks," he added.

"I felt tennis was really easy for me last week and I was playing really aggressive without even trying to play aggressive and hitting winners in moments when I was not even going for the winner.

"I think that's a sign I was playing well, doing the fundamentals very well, but I think it takes momentum to build into playing that way. Preparing the way I did gave me that best chance and I want to keep going and there's no reason to slow down.

"Having a great tournament and feeling the hunger to want to go and do it again in another big tournament here in Miami, when the conditions can suit me, my game very well, is something that I'm excited for and no reason to slow down.

"Typically, I never feel good here in Miami. I'm always quite tired after all this big swing.

"I think Miami is just a crazy city in general, so I want to conserve my energy a little bit more and try to just stay mentally fresh as much as I can, that is the biggest thing here coming to Miami.

"There's a lot of players that are tired and I was one of them in the past. So I'm feeling good and fresh, I think that's the biggest thing.

"Knowing that the conditions do suit me well is something that I want to put on my side and if I'm suffering, I can't imagine what the other guy is going to be feeling in these hot and humid conditions."

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