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Kyle O'Sullivan

Cameron Norrie's nationality explained and why he switched allegiance to Great Britain

Cameron Norrie wasn't born or raised in Britain - but he's become one of this nation's favourite sporting heroes.

The 26-year-old, who has been the British men's number one since October last year, booked his place in the Wimbledon semi-final on Wednesday with a thrilling five-set victory over David Goffin.

At many points the Brit looked down and out, but he battled through to take victory and will now face six-times champion Novak Djokovic on Centre Court today.

Norrie has been representing Britain on the court, but he grew up in a different country and controversially switched allegiance at the age of 17.

The tennis ace was born in Johannesburg in South Africa in 1995 to microbiologist parents, who themselves have different nationalities.

"I'm pretty Scottish, I think," he told The Guardian in August 2017. "My dad was born in Glasgow, my mum in Cardiff. I've been to Scotland a few times but I don't like the weather."

Cameron Norrie has made it to the Wimbledon semi-final (Getty Images)

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When Norrie was three-years-old in 1998, he moved to Auckland, New Zealand with his family - and his parents still live there.

He played football, touch rugby and cricket as well as tennis when he was younger, only deciding to stick with the racket when he was 15 and toured Europe for five months.

While representing New Zealand as a junior, Norrie reached number 10 in the world but received only a few thousand dollars from Tennis NZ.

This meant that his parents had to finance his overseas travel, so it was a no brainer when Britain came knocking on the door.

In 2013, Norrie switched allegiances as he qualified for Britain through his parents - and many in New Zealand thought it highlighted issues in their system.

Team NZ CEO Steve Johns said: "These guys are out there wanting to make a career in tennis, and there is no way we're ever going to be able to match the resources of a Grand Slam nation."

Norrie with his Scottish dad David (@norrie/INSTAGRAM)

A spokesperson for HPSNZ said: "Athletes and coaches do move around the world. We benefit when overseas athletes choose to live in New Zealand.

"Cameron has identified an opportunity for him and we wish him well in chasing his dream."

Norrie, who had already moved to the UK in 2011, lived in London for three years before moving to America.

He was having difficulty on the European circuit so decided to attend Texas Christian University in Fort Worth from 2014 until 2017.

While there he became the top-ranked male college tennis player in the US, being the first time that TCU had such an honour, then ended his studies to turn professional during the grass court season of the 2017 ATP Tour.

Since then he has been living in Putney, which is close to Wimbledon in south west London, but he did fly out to stay with his parents in New Zealand when the pandemic hit.

Norrie's parents still live in New Zealand (@norrie/INSTAGRAM)

Djokovic hasn't lost a match at Wimbledon since 2017, but Norrie believes he has the ability to cause a major upset and reach Sunday's final.

Norrie said: "It's going to be a tough one against Novak obviously, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. I think I'm going to take it to him.

"The last time I played him, he played very good and I think I learnt a lot from that. I think I'm going to approach it a little bit differently tactically."

Norrie said it was "very special" to play in front of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - and he is looking forward to taking on his Serbian opponent.

"I'm going to have to improve a lot of things. I don't think I'm going to have the chance to lose focus like I did against David. I think I was a little bit fortunate," he added.

Djokovic, who has only faced Norrie once before, said: "For him, there is not much to lose. Every victory from now onwards is a big deal for him. But I know his game well and I will do my homework and get ready."

(Javier Garcia/REX/Shutterstock)

Norrie is hoping to become Wimbledon champion - and will pick up a hefty prize fund as well as the trophy if he wins.

The Brit has already Norrie secured just over £472,000, but his prize money will rise to a cool £1 million if he manages to beat Djokovic.

The place in the final will be against Nick Kyrgios, who has secured his spot already because Rafael Nadal has been forced to pull out due to injury.

The winner of Wimbledon will take home £1.76 million - and Norrie will increase his already staggering net worth of around £3 million.

Will he be able to overcome Djokovic and reach the Wimbledon final?

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