CAMERON NORRIE was accused of exploiting a tennis loophole following his five-set win over Nicolas Jarry.
The British star booked his place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a gruelling 6-3 7-6 6-7 6-7 6-3 win over the towering Chilean.
During the match, Jarry complained to the umpire about Norrie’s behaviour.
The 29-year-old ranted: “I just have to suck it because he always does it? That’s the reason I have to play with something that affects me. It can be changed.”
Jarry was unhappy with the amount of time that Norrie was taking between first and second serve, and also had animated words for the Brit after they shook hands at the end of the match.
The server has 25 seconds between points, with a shot clock in operation.
But there is no defined rule about how long can be taken between first and second serves.
Appearing on the BBC’s coverage, 1987 Wimbledon men’s singles champion Pat Cash felt that Norrie was “milking it”.
The Aussie, 60, said: “They had a little natter about the ball bouncing. I don’t know if he [Norrie] was trying to get some rest but the excessive ball bouncing was, well, excessive.
“I’ve never seen that before so maybe it was just the state he was in during the match. After the first serve you can sort of take as much time as you like, it’s a sort of silly anomaly of the rule.
“You have to serve by a certain time on the shot clock, but as long as you get to the line and throw the ball in the air, you can take as much time as you like after that, which is ridiculous.
“Cam sort of milked that a bit. Maybe he was tired.”
After his gruelling four-and-a-half hour marathon victory, Norrie played down his altercation with Jarry.
The former world No8 said: “For me, I wanted to take my time on the second serve and make sure that I’m getting myself ready to set.
“I’m not doing nothing. I actually didn’t even notice he was upset with that.
“Yeah, I want to settle before I hit my second serve. I don’t want to rush into it and hit a quick double.
“That was kind of what I’m doing with my second serve. I want to play the point. Typically I had to play a long point. If I’m hitting a second serve, I have to be ready for sure.”
Norrie’s tactics worked, as his serve was not broken throughout the entire match.
Next up, Norrie will face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz for a place in the last four.
The match will take place second up on Centre Court tomorrow.
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