Andy Murray serving up an example for Cameron Norrie after US Open first-round victory

Norrie will play Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round on Wednesday

Cameron Norrie looks on during his first round victory over Dmitry Tursunov at the US Open (Getty Images)

Andy Murray’s dedication is serving as the perfect example to Cameron Norrie as the 22-year-old Briton finds his way in the sport. Norrie, who won his first match at Grand Slam level when he beat Dmitry Tursunov here on Monday in the first round of the US Open, met Murray for the first time less than two months ago.

“Andy came up to Cameron in the locker room at the Queen’s Club and introduced himself,” David Norrie, the world No 225’s father, said. “They hit together quite a lot before Wimbledon and the experience of playing and preparing with Andy has shown Cameron just how focused you must be to reach the top.

“Cameron was amazed at how Andy didn’t want to waste a single ball in practice. He’s a great role model. He comes across so well. I don’t understand those who don’t like him. Off the court he’s erudite, witty and balanced. He shows great humility as well.

“He maybe knew Cameron lacked the courage to go up and introduce himself at Queen’s, so he did it himself, which speaks volumes.”

Andy Murray used Cameron Norrie as a practice partner earlier this season (Getty Images)

David Norrie, who was born in Scotland, is following his son’s progress from the family home in Auckland. Cameron, who meets Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round here on Wednesday, was born in Johannesburg, but the family left South Africa when he was three to live in New Zealand. Cameron spent three years in London as a teenager and then played college tennis in the United States at Texas Christian University, which is still his training base.

“Cameron’s upbringing has stood him in good stead for his tennis career as you must be a good traveller,” his father said. “Really, if he wanted to improve as a tennis player he had no option but to leave New Zealand. You have to live here to understand the dearth of opportunities for tennis players.

“Even the guys who represent New Zealand in the sport don’t live here. It has one ATP tour event and no Futures or Challenger events. There are loads of clubs and lots of people play tennis. I can walk to our local club from our house. However New Zealand is so isolated there is no route to professionalism.”

Cameron went to London when he was 16 and lived at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton for a while. “It’s great for tennis but there were no non-tennis outlets,” his father said. “He grew up to the point where he realised he had to go to college to fulfil his ambitions and live a more rounded life. However, being part of the LTA system helped him feel British. He feels like a British guy now.”

Cameron Norrie made his grand slam debut at Wimbledon this summer (Getty Images)

How far does Norrie senior think his son can go in the sport? “I’d like to think he can get into the top 50 over the next couple of years and establish himself there,” he said. “If that happens, why not aim even higher? The average age of a player in the top 100 is 28 so he still has six years to reach his peak.

“It’s a funny sport. Some players take a while to peak. Look at Gilles Muller. He won his first ATP tour event last year and defeated Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon and he’s 34. You never know what can happen. Cameron was nervous before the match with Tursunov because it was the first time he’d made the main draw of a Slam on his own merits. Moving forward, the first-round experience will stand him in good stead.”

Norrie’s parents went to Wimbledon last month to watch their son make his Grand Slam debut but will not be travelling here. David Norrie, a keen cyclist, is preparing for a trip to Europe to ride some Tour de France mountain stages.

“We live in New Zealand and you have to be realistic: we can’t go everywhere we want,” David Norrie said. “It would have been great to have been in New York, but I had already made my commitment to France.”