If you take a look at Cameron Norrie’s 2026 Australian Open journey, it has been successful but filled with challenges that the Brit had to overcome. In the first round against France’s Benjamin Bonzi, Norrie secured a tough 6-0, 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. Then, against the USA’s Emilio Nava, he went through another deep round of tennis, securing a 6-1, 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5) victory. After these matches, he had a certain moment with the Aussie crowd.

During an on-court interview, as seen on TNT Sports’ X post, Cameron Norrie came across a chant of “Norrie! Norrie!” which halted the conversation. Then came his enthusiastic response.

“The atmosphere, unreal, thank you, guys, for staying. The big question: where’s the after party? You gotta keep going, you gotta keep going. Now, as you can see, atmosphere unreal. Everyone’s had a few drinks, so fun. But yeah, it was nice to get the job done.”

The Brit has formed a strong bond with the Melbourne crowd.

Ahead of his third-round clash, he was asked, “Potential matchup against Sasha Zverev. Thoughts on that?”

To which he instantly replied while also receiving an enthusiastic prediction from the crowd: “Norrie in straight (sets) apparently. No, I just want to enjoy this match. I haven’t even looked ahead. But he (the fan) backs me, so I’m feeling the confidence from him.”

While the Melbourne crowd is excited to watch Norrie go against the world no. 3, the stats are pretty much in favor of the German. Zverev has faced Norrie in six games since 2019 and has won them all. Meanwhile, the 2026 Australian Open isn’t the first time that they will face each other in Melbourne.

In 2024, in the round of 16, the two tennis stars were head-to-head and looked forward to a victory. The German prevailed over the Brit to secure a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3) victory in a tense match that lasted for four hours and five minutes.

Following the match, Cameron Norrie said, “I would rather [go close] than not play as well. There were only a few points in it. I think [Zverev] is probably one of the best players in the world at the moment and playing close with him at a Grand Slam is exactly where I want to be.”

Even Zverev praised Norrie: “Cam has been playing amazing tennis, and I’m just happy to be through.”

The last time they met on court, it was another fiery match between the two.

Cameron Norrie and Alexander Zverev gave the world a match to embrace high-stakes tennis

The 2024 Wimbledon saw a massive match-up between Alexander Zverev and Cameron Norrie. It was a dramatic three-set game, won by the German 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (15), but the match was a reminder of what these tennis players are capable of when it comes to pushing themselves to their very limits.

Zverev appeared to injure his knee during the fifth game of the second set.

He slipped and fell awkwardly, which raised concerns, as the German took some time and eventually returned to the grass court.

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“I do feel like a cow on ice sometimes. I do feel restricted in some of the movements. I will check it out to see what it is. I’m pleased that I was able to continue playing the way I did – today if I would have dropped in my level I would have no chance against Cam,” Zverev remarked following the match.

The German improved his movement, securing his hard-fought victory after a 26-minute 32-point third-set tie-break. This match showed that every time the two go against each other, fans can expect elite tennis play, far from a one-sided game.