Cam Norrie has joined the Carlos Alcaraz club by warming-up for Wimbledon with a break in Ibiza.
The Spanish superstar, 22, has escaped to the Balearics after the French Open for the last three years. And he has returned to win the last two Wimbledon titles – and the Queen’s Club title last month – before attempting to complete his SW19 hat-trick.
Alcaraz took shots with his friend and former Spurs defender Sergio Reguilon and then said after winning the HSBC Championships: “The days in Ibiza helped me a lot, just to feel like I’m not a tennis player.”
And British No.3 Norrie, who has been spotted wearing a t-shirt from the nightclub Pacha, has revealed he has adopted the same “method” after reaching the Wimbledon fourth round.
“I always wanted to go there and I was there for a couple of days for the first time, and it was good fun,” said the 2022 semi-finalist. “Pacha is a pretty good nightclub. And there are some really nice beaches as well. It was nice to swim and a very chill, relaxing place. I just went with my best friend, he was there watching me in Paris and we went afterwards.
“Carlos was there after me. And actually I was telling my team: ‘Let’s see if the Carlos method can work because he went to Ibiza and he won Wimby!’ I felt pretty good there, pretty relaxed. It was a good couple of days, was very quick, and then I was back practicing on the grass.”
The gritty left-hander is renowned for his hard work on and off the court. But now 29, the former world No.8 said he has learned the importance of rest and relaxation after battling back from a forearm injury which saw him drop to world No.91.
“It’s important to take breaks and decompress in the right way,” said Norrie, who is close to a return to the top 50.
“I think I’m a player that really likes to play matches, and I need the confidence from the matches. But as I’m progressing later in my career, I think it’s important to take time away, and become a normal person and do different stuff, play golf and have other things going on around tennis.
“Obviously, tennis is super important, but I think it’s important to enjoy off the court in your own way. And I think it’s when you come to the court fresh, and you’ve had a few days on the beach or a few days in the sun relaxing, you feel ready to compete again.
“And I think Alcaraz is the perfect example of that, you see him competing, he looks fresh. He obviously went to Queens and did well there. It’s all about picking the right moments to do that kind of stuff. There’s obviously not too many breaks in the calendar. So I think moving forward, I want to try to plan a few more different, smaller breaks, just to stay fresh and stay mentally ready. Because obviously the calendar is very long, so I see it’s pretty important.”